Local Child Poverty Statistics 2026

Having experienced homelessness and poverty at such an early age, I know first hand how profoundly it can shape a child’s life. Childhood becomes a constant battle for security and stability, instead of a time for education, curiosity and growth. The impact runs deep and can last a lifetime. We cannot keep treating child poverty as though it is something we have to accept, and I hope this data provides the much needed wake up call to the reality many children face and the urgent action needed so fewer are forced to grow up facing these hardships

Phoebe, a Youth Ambassador for the End Child Poverty Coalition, aged 21 from the West Midlands

Local child poverty rates, After Housing Costs

In previous years the End Child Poverty Coalition, together with the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University, has published data on the number of children living in poverty, in each Westminster Constituency and Local Authority across the UK. For this year the Department for Work and Pensions has developed their own method for producing after housing costs rates and numbers of children in poverty at a local level as part of the ‘Children in Low Income Families Release’. These government data were previously only available for child poverty before housing costs. The data are integral to the child poverty strategy, and will be used to evaluate the local impact of government action to tackle child poverty.  However, due to differences in methodology and in the population included in the government estimates, these should not be compared with End Child Poverty Coalition’s previously published local area statistics.

Quick Links

• Download the data tables to find out the level of child poverty in your constituency and local authority
• Looking for press releases? See our Media Resources page