Surrey's most deprived areas where more than a third of children live in poverty

Well over a third of children are living in poverty in Surrey’s most deprived neighbourhoods. Data put together by SurreyLive shows the stark contrast in numbers of children living below the breadline in different parts of the county. Across Surrey, a total of 21,247 children aged 0 to 15 were living in poverty in the year ending March 2024 according to the latest figures from the DWP.

That’s up from 20,375 a year earlier and works out as just under one out of every 10 children (9%) in the county. However, this is not evenly spread across the county. In the Alfold, Cranleigh Rural and Ellens Green ward of Waverley, almost a third (29%) of children were living in poverty.



That’s the highest proportion in the county. In the Canalside ward of Woking , just over a quarter (26%) of children were living below the breadline. Meanwhile, in Old Dean (Surrey Heath) 22% of children were living in poverty, and in Stoke ( Guildford ) it was 21%.

By contrast, just 1% of children in three Surrey wards were living in poverty last year, the lowest proportions in the county - Oxshott and Stoke D'Abernon (Elmbridge), Oatlands and Burwood Park (Elmbridge), and Godalming Holloway (Waverley). These figures are some of the lowest in the country. You can see how many children were living in poverty in your neighbourhood last year - and contact your MP about the issue - by using our interactive map: Across the UK, a total of 4.

5 million children were living in poverty in the year ending March 2024. Local level figures, which are calculated slightly differently to the national ones, show that in over 130 neighbourhoods, the majority of children are living in poverty. When looking at the South and East of the country, Peterborough has the highest rate - some 60% of children in the city’s North ward were living in poverty in the year ending March 2024.

By contrast, fewer than one in 100 kids in the Walton Manor ward of Oxford were living in poverty, which is the lowest rate in the country. The actual number of children living in poverty in local areas is likely even higher, as the method of calculating the figures is different than at the national level. The national figures look at relative poverty after housing costs, whereas local figures don’t take housing into account.

The national figures also include children from the age of 0 right up to 19, if they are still at home and not in work. Local figures only include kids aged 0 to 15. A Government spokesperson said: “No child should be in poverty – that’s why our ministerial taskforce is developing an ambitious strategy to give every child the best start in life as part of our Plan for Change.

“Alongside delivering on our Get Britain Working reforms to support people into good jobs and make everyone better off, we have increased the Living Wage, uprated benefits and are supporting 700,000 of the poorest families by introducing a Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit deductions to help low-income households.” This April marked eight years since the introduction of the two-child benefit cap. Figures from the End Child Poverty Coalition show that there is a link between the percentage of children living in poverty and the percentage of children impacted by the policy.

Joseph Howes, CEO of Buttle UK and Chair of the End Child Poverty Coalition, said: “Scrapping the two-child limit is a crucial first step to address rising child poverty across the UK. “By doing this the government could also see a boost to local economies, targeting some of the most deprived areas of the country. “We don’t want to see another year of families suffering as a result of the two-child limit.

The government must scrap this policy as part of their soon to be published strategy to tackle child poverty”. Surrey wards where 15% or more of children were living in poverty in 2023/24 Alfold, Cranleigh Rural and Ellens Green (Waverley): 29.% Canalside (Woking): 26% Old Dean (Surrey Heath): 22% Stoke (Guildford): 21% Westborough (Guildford): 20% St Michaels (Surrey Heath): 19% Burstow, Horne and Outwood (Tandridge): 19% Stanwell North (Spelthorne): 18% Felbridge (Tandridge): 17% Leatherhead North (Mole Valley): 17% Chertsey St Ann's (Runnymede): 16% Ash Wharf (Guildford): 16% Holmwoods (Mole Valley): 16% Ashford North and Stanwell South (Spelthorne): 16% Watchetts (Surrey Heath): 16% Sunbury Common (Spelthorne): 16% Godstone (Tandridge): 15% Godalming Binscombe (Waverley): 15% Addlestone South (Runnymede): 15% Ruxley ( Epsom and Ewell ): 15% Walton North (Elmbridge): 15%.