Disadvantaged Communities Debate
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Allison Gardner
Main Page: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)Department Debates - View all Allison Gardner's debates with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Disadvantaged Communities
Allison Gardner Excerpts(3 days, 10 hours ago)
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Dr Allison Gardner (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Lab)
Child poverty rates in Florence in my constituency have reached over 60% in recent years—the highest rate across Stoke-on-Trent, which routinely scores highest for infant mortality rates. Does my hon. Friend agree that as we publish the child poverty strategy in the autumn, Stoke-on-Trent South needs sustained investment to tackle high rates of child poverty?
Mrs Brackenridge
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, who is clearly a champion for families and children in her constituency.
Our communities are burdened with deep-rooted barriers—obstacles caused by poverty, economic inactivity, inequality, educational disadvantages, poor access to healthcare and years of systematic under-investment. The scale of the challenge is clear: Wolverhampton North East ranked 73rd out of 543 constituencies in England in the index of multiple deprivation. One in three people in my constituency lives in one of the highest need neighbourhoods in the country, and they are not alone. Across England, 345 of 543 constituencies contain at least one neighbourhood in the most deprived 10% nationally. Those left-behind places are not isolated pockets; they are widespread.