BARROW Borough Council has become one of the first authorities in the country to declare a poverty emergency.

The poverty emergency was declared after a meeting saw councillors asked to vote on a motion outlined by council leader Ann Thomson.

The approval of the motion allowed a poverty emergency to be declared in hopes that it would help to identify and tackle the root causes of poverty and inequalities across the Barrow area.

The council are now aiming to create a Poverty Truth Commission with an independent chair who will bring together all of the agencies who will work with the community.

This Commission will be at the heart of the council’s Growing Forward Agenda.

Council leader Ann Thomson has spoke of her worry about the rise in unemployment, as well as the cost of living - calling the declaration ‘more important than ever’. She said: “Due to Covid-19 we are living with economic uncertainty and financial pressures have increased in all households.

“Unemployment is on the rise and the cost of living has gone up, so it’s now more important than ever to declare a poverty emergency in Barrow.

“People shouldn’t feel ashamed of the situation they’re in - by declaring this emergency we can build a stronger community and we build a powerful voice against poverty by making sure we listen carefully to the very people who have experienced it first hand.

“We need to raise awareness of the issue of poverty and we need our central government to step up to tackle this issue too.”

Poverty Truth Commissions have been launched in several parts of the UK to bring those who live in, or who have experienced poverty, together with people in power to inform the way services are commissioned and run.

Barrow and Furness MP Simon Fell agreed the issue needs tackling but hopes the council will not ‘reinvent the wheel’.

He said: “One family in poverty is one too many. I’ve spent much of the last nine months working with charities and organisations across Barrow to understand how to give families the tools and support they need to move out of poverty.

“Lots of work has already been done in this area – not least the Furness Poverty Commission report by my predecessor. We don’t need to retread old ground – we need answers and joint working from everyone who has a stake in this.

“I hope that council will join me in working constructively with groups that are already set up like the Levelling Up Taskforce to find lasting solutions rather than re-inventing the wheel.”