More than 10,000 children in Brighton and Hove were living in poverty, according to a report presented this afternoon.
The Children and Young People’s Trust Board was told that this represented 22 per cent of dependent children in Brighton and Hove.
In East Brighton ward, which includes Whitehawk, the proportion reached 47 per cent.
And in Moulsecoomb and Bevendean it reached 45 per cent in the most recent figures which date from 2008.
Figures for 2009 are due to be published in the autumn.
The report said: “Our child poverty rate is in line with the national average but significantly higher than the regional level.”
The 22 per cent figure compares with 21 per cent nationally and 15 per cent in the south east.
Brighton and Hove City Council and its partners in the trust carried out a child poverty needs assessment earlier this year.
The report added that the trust’s child poverty strategy is on track to be completed in September.
Poverty is measured as having an income that is 60 per cent below the national average.
