Kids 'Growing Up In No-Work Homes'

Almost a quarter of children in London live in households where no one is working, official figures show.


The figure of 23% is well above the national average of 15%, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The North East, North West, West Midlands and Wales all have a disproportionate amount of children in the same situation, with a rate of 18%.

The report also shows regional differences in the types of family children live in, their health, education and sentencing for crime.

An ONS spokesman said: "Although there are differences between regions, the data suggest that the most significant influence on children's experiences growing up is likely to be income deprivation."

The report also found London topped the list of regions with the highest number of families headed by lone parents - 31% compared with 29% in the North East, 28% in both the North West and Wales, and just 19% in the South East.

Two-thirds of families with dependent children in Northern Ireland and the South East involved married couples, compared with fewer than 60% in the North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber and Wales.

The report also found child obesity rates were high in urban areas such as Hackney in east London (16%), Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester, and low in Brighton and Hove (6%), Wokingham, Stockport, Sheffield, Windsor and Kingston upon Thames.

A lower proportion of young people in urban areas achieved five A*-C GCSEs or equivalent, compared with their rural counterparts.

London bucked the trend, largely because its non-urban areas cover a very small minority of pupils.

But there was also a significant variation in levels of attainment between urban areas, with more than 65% of children attaining five A*-C grades in Gateshead, Trafford, Wakefield, Solihull and Belfast in 2006/07.

Fewer than 55% attained the same results in Sheffield, Barnsley and Bradford, Coventry, Derby, Nottingham and Leicester.

The report's unveiling coincided with the release of a study by the Centre for Cities which warned the Government had to do more to tackle the problem of long-term youth unemployment.