Beith calls for more help for poorest families

3.15.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 10th Jun 2008

Alan Beith MP has spoken out after new figures show that many households in the north east are still living below the poverty line. The Department of Work and Pensions has published a report on households below the average income which shows that despite one in five pensioners in the north east is at risk of living in a household below the poverty line, while one in three north east children risk living in households with less than 60% of the median household income.

Mr Beith said

"In 1999 Labour promised to eradicate child poverty "within a generation" but has so far failed to deliver that promise - all they have done is bring in complex, means-tested Tax Credits which have been a bureaucratic disaster and a nightmare for many families who are simply trying to get the tax credits to which they are entitled.

"Yet we have over one in four children in the north east are at risk of living in poverty and that figure rises to one in three when housing costs are taken into account. These are the highest figures in the country outside of London, which has extremely high housing costs.

"The Conservatives have just talked about welfare to work schemes, with a focus on getting people off benefit - but this does nothing to address high levels of poverty among lone parents and families with disabled members. Their policies have been widely criticised by the child poverty lobby."

"The risk of pensioners living in poverty is still one in five and I am concerned that this we could see an upward trend as fuel costs rise steeply. I am continuing to put pressure on the Government to look at ways to help people hit by the rising cost of domestic fuel."

Alan Beith has put his name to a parliamentary motion calling on the Government to ensure that the National Consumer Council includes oil, liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and all other forms of fuel products currently not under regulation within its remit, to help people with the massive increases in their energy bills, particularly in rural areas.

"Households in remote or rural areas tend to rely more on oil, LPG, coal or other fuels than people who can easily be connected to mains gas and I want the Government to ensure that any protection or support offered to people affected by higher costs for gas and electricity is available to those using other fuels for domestic heating and hot water."