The importance of parents having a job has been stressed by a city MP as new figures reveal three in 10 children are living 'in poverty' in Norwich.
The statistics - which equate to more than 11,000 kids - come as food banks across the city see demand regularly exceed capacity amid the cost of living crisis.
33.9pc (5,982) of children aged 15 or under in Norwich South are estimated to be below the poverty line, while 29.5pc (5,374) are facing such deprivation in Norwich North.
The data has been collated by the End Child Poverty Coalition, a campaign made up of more than 80 organisations - including Save the Children UK and food bank network The Trussell Trust.
Their study showed 4.2 million kids were living in poverty in the UK in 2021-22, which is 29pc of children.
The group combined government statistics showcasing the number of children from households that have incomes 60pc below average with information about housing costs at the local level.
Norwich South's Labour MP Clive Lewis described the figures as "scandalous", adding: "Most of those children will be from families in work.
"A pernicious double whammy of perpetually low wages and high living costs means that 'getting by' in Norwich is particularly difficult compared to many other cities.
"And it's getting worse.
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"The proximate reasons include plummeting real wages and benefits and, most recently, big business using significant international events as an excuse to jack up prices and rake in huge profits."
Mr Lewis' constituency has seen a 6.5pc increase in child poverty between 2014 and 2022 - while Norwich North has seen a rise of 3.4pc.
Conservative MP for Norwich North, Chloe Smith, pointed to government data showing there were more than 1.1 million job vacancies in the most recent figures available, for between December 2022 and February 2023.
However, the Child Poverty Action Group study found 71pc of kids growing up in poverty live in a household where at least one person works.
Ms Smith, who has already announced she will not defend her seat, having been elected in a 2009 by-election, said: "Parents being in work is the best way to tackle child poverty.
"There have been record numbers of job vacancies and that means people in [the city] can find good opportunities locally.
"Recognising the high cost of living at the moment, the government has helped with a lot of support, worth hundreds of pounds to the most vulnerable households.
"The government has also just increased the National Living Wage by nearly 10%, so it’s risen to £10.42 an hour.
"This represents an annual pay rise worth over £1,600 to a full-time worker, the largest cash increase ever, so being in work pays."
A damning report from The Times last year revealed the UK has more food banks than McDonald's restaurants.
And services across Norwich are now seeing demand rise to a point where they regularly exceed capacity, as UK food prices have risen by almost 20pc in the past year.
"These people are in such a state," said Julie Brociek-Coulton, who runs the food bank at Silver Road Community Centre and is a Labour county councillor for the Sewell ward.
"We operate by appointment on Thursdays and Saturdays and have a limit of 22.
"But we regularly take as much as 30.
"How can we turn down people who can't afford food or to clothe their children?"
Responding to the figures, Alice Macdonald, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Norwich North, said: "These aren’t just devastating statistics - they are children’s lives, children right here in Norwich North whose lives are held back before they have even begun.
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"They deserve better than this.
"Sadly, it’s no surprise that child poverty figures are rising as the cost of living crisis deepens under the Conservative government.
"They must take immediate action to ensure no child grows up in poverty."
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