There are now 1.3 million people living in poverty in the West Midlands, new figures reveal.

And that includes 400,000 children.

It means that in an average classroom of 30 children, ten are likely to be in poverty.

The figures were published by think tank the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

They show the number of children in poverty has increased.

And the think tank said this follows a relentless rise in the number of working families struggling to make ends meet over the last five years.

However, the chances of being in poverty are still much higher for a child if no adult in their household works.

What is poverty?

The definition used by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation is that a family is in poverty if they have an income of less than 60% of median income for their family type, after housing costs.

In other words, they are significantly poorer than most other similar families.

Here are the weekly incomes which count as being in poverty:

Family type Weekly income
Couple with no children £255
Single with no children £148
Couple with two children aged five and 14 £413
Single with two children aged five and 14 £306

Note that this includes all the family income, including wages, benefits and any other source of income.

And it refers to the money left over after any tax is paid, including council tax, as well as contributions to pension schemes, student loan payments and all housing costs.

What is the poverty level in the West Midlands?

These figures apply to the whole of the West Midlands region, including Worcestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Herefordshire as well as Birmingham, Solihull, Coventry and the Black Country.

Latest figure Change over 10 years
People in poverty in West Midlands 1,340,000 + 110,000
Poverty rate in West Midlands 24% 0
National poverty rate 22% 0


Latest figure Change over 10 years
Children in poverty in West Midlands 420,000 + 40,000
Child poverty rate in West Midlands 34% + 2%
National child poverty rate 30% 0

There are 270,000 children in poverty in the West Midlands where somebody works - an increase of 70,000 compared to ten years ago.

But the figures show that 26% of children in working households are in poverty in the West Midlands, compared to 77% of children in households where nobody works.

What causes poverty?

According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, problems facing families include:

  1. Parents getting stuck in low-paid work with little progression, especially in jobs in hotels, bars, restaurants and shops.
  2. Gains from the National Living Wage and tax cuts being outweighed by changes to tax credits and benefits that top up low wages.
  3. The struggle to pay for housing: rising social rents, more low-income families with children living in the expensive private rented sector, and growing shortfalls in Housing Benefit are forcing parents to use other income to cover their rent, leaving with them less money to cover other essentials.

The think tank is calling for reforms to social security, housing and the jobs market so more people build can build a better life. It recommends:

  • Ending the freeze on benefits and tax credits a year early next spring to anchor people against low pay and high costs.
  • The Government to build at least 80,000 genuinely affordable homes a year .
  • More employers play their part in solving poverty : by paying the "Real Living Wage" (currently £9 outside London) and training their workforce so they can progress into higher-paid roles

What does the Government say?

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: "We disagree with this report, and there are now one million fewer people living in absolute poverty since 2010, including 300,000 children.

"With this Government's changes household incomes have never been higher, income inequality has fallen, taxes are down for families and businesses, and there are fewer children in workless households than ever before, boosting their prospects in life."

What does the Opposition say?

Valerie Vaz MP, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons and Member of Parliament for Walsall South, said: "Behind each statistic there are millions of lives in the West Midlands marked by the stress, pain and disruption of living in poverty.

"There is something seriously wrong when the number of people in work and in poverty is increasing faster than employment.

Valerie Vaz MP.
Valerie Vaz MP.

"Increasing numbers of children are growing up in poverty as their parents are unable to escape insecure work and low pay.

"This is proof, right here, that the Tories are failing the people of the West Midlands.

"Labour will end the social security freeze, introduce a £10 per hour Real Living Wage and build the affordable housing so desperately needed to lift people out of poverty."