MORE than 2,000 children in the South Lakes area are living in poverty, according to new figures.

Data released by End Poverty Now shows that 2,168 youngsters in the Westmorland and Lonsdale Parliamentary constituency are living in poverty – which is 15.5 per cent of all children in the area.

The new figures reveal that there are now constituencies within the UK where more than half of children are growing up in poverty – compared to one in ten, in the areas with the lowest child poverty rates.

"It is scandalous that a child born in some parts of the UK now has a greater chance of growing up in poverty, than being in a family above the breadline," said Sam Royston, chair of End Child Poverty and director of Policy and Research at the Children’s Society.

Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, said the situation in his constituency was a disgrace. “In the South Lakes we’ve seen a worrying rise in the use of food banks and over the past year I’ve regularly had people turning up to my surgeries who are in desperate need," he said.

“I’ve spoken to local head teachers who fear that their children won’t eat properly over the school holidays. These figures really do hammer home just how serious this situation is.

“The Government must immediately do everything they can to tackle this because for so many children in Westmorland and Lonsdale to be living in poverty is nothing short of a disgrace.”

South Lakeland District Council (SLDC) has said it is working hard locally to alleviate the impact of poverty, with a strategy being drawn up to help the most vulnerable people.

SLDC leader, Cllr Giles Archibald, said: "Poverty appears to be on the increase in the area and this council feels a strong responsibility to do all it can to ease the burden of hardship.

“Greater social mobility means ending cycles of disadvantage, tackling patterns of inequality and taking a fresh approach to easing poverty.”

SLDC is working with key partners to produce an action plan designed to build greater financial resilience across the district.

Cllr Philip Dixon, SLDC’s Portfolio Holder for Public Health and Wellbeing, said the new approach will build on Cumbria County Council’s Anti-Poverty Strategy, giving it a more local focus.

“We have a lot of work to do but with children living in poverty and around 4,810 households classed as being ‘fuel poor’ or unable to keep warm on their income, we have a moral responsibility to do all we can to help our neighbours and others in our community."

Last month SLDC’s Cabinet recommended continuation of a scheme that reduces the amount of Council Tax paid by the most vulnerable. The Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme, which has been in place since 2013, offers up to a 100% reduction for all eligible residents, supporting people on benefits or low incomes. Last year it helped more than 5,000 households, many of them pensioners.