Newcastle Home To Deprived Communities

30 July 2013, 06:00 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

New figures show Byker is one of the most deprived areas of the country - more than half of children there are living in poverty.

The male life expectancy in Byker is just 67 years, eleven years below the UK average.

55% of children in St. Martin's parish at the centre of Byker are living in poverty.

41% of working age adults there have no qualifications.

Church Urban Fund's new app and updated online poverty look up tool reveal the most deprived communities in the country, with inner city and coastal areas suffering disproportionately and a pronounced north/south divide.

A youth project in Benwell, where 41% of children live in poverty and 41% of working age adults have no qualifications, engages young people through education and activities, including a football club.

The project is run by Together Newcastle, an initiative that brings together church and community groups to set up activities to tackle poverty.

Steve Forster, Development Worker, Together Newcastle, said:
"This years' figures show that deprivation is particularly concentrated along England's coastline and in the North, but what people will find when they use the tool is that poverty is everywhere.

Parts of Newcastle like Byker and Benwell are notorious and come up in national statistics like these all the time. What people rarely talk about are the problems that lie underneath all these statistics, and how to address them.

The good news is, we've seen that people in these towns really look out for each other. People in the poorest areas are running debt counselling services, donating to foodbanks and supporting their vulnerable neighbours. I hope everyone reading will play with our app, explore deprivation where they live and help us to tackle poverty."