OVER 27,000 children and young people are growing up in relative poverty in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly – that’s one in five children and the equivalent of 1,080 average size classrooms in the Duchy. The shocking statistics are revealed in a new report, which has led to the agreed formation of a child poverty taskforce.

Cornwall Council’s Liberal Democrat and Independent cabinet has agreed to back recommendations outlined by the author of the report, director of public health Dr Euan O’Neill, which includes setting up a taskforce, doing everything in its power to accelerate the delivery of affordable housing, improving transport access and expanding youth services.

The report, which has been written incorporating testimonials from many children and young people living in poverty, lays bare some stark statistics concerning the living and health standards of babies through to 19-year-olds in Cornwall. By age five, there is five-month learning gap between the most advantaged and disadvantaged children. In Cornwall, only 52.5 per cent of children eligible for free school meals had a good level of development at age five compared to 69.7 per cent of all children. This learning gap widens throughout primary and secondary school.

Children living in poverty are more likely to suffer from diet-related issues such as tooth decay, malnutrition, obesity and type 2 diabetes, while 23.7 per cent of Year 6 children living with obesity are living in the most deprived areas of Cornwall, compared to 13.2 per cent in the least deprived areas.

Children living in the most deprived households are four times more likely to have serious mental health difficulties by the age of 11 compared to those living in the least deprived households.

Introducing the report, Cllr Thalia Marrington, the portfolio holder for community safety and public health, said: “We heard from children who go to bed hungry, who skip school trips and who feel ashamed because they don’t have the right shoes or uniform.

“We heard also from parents making impossible choices between heating and eating, and we heard from professionals who say they’re seeing more children in poverty than at any point in their careers.”

“The report will inform the work of a newly established babies, children and young people poverty action group and it will also support the development of local responses to the national child poverty strategy.”

The council’s Lib Dem leader Cllr Leigh Frost added: “The scale of it – 27,000 children living in Cornwall right now – is outrageous. We’re one of the most advanced economies in the world and that’s what we’ve got for our children in Cornwall. If we don’t support our children now, we know that as they grow up they will probably end up living in poverty in adulthood.

“We get £49 per person for our public health grant, when the national average is £73. This is a really important challenge for this council and one we have to take on.”

The child poverty report and its recommendations received cross-party support at the cabinet meeting.