To ask the Minister for Communities, pursuant to AQW 23283/17-22, (i) for her assessment of the child poverty figures for East Londonderry as being among the highest for non-urban constituencies in Northern Ireland; and (ii) to outline any specific actions she is taking to address child poverty levels in East Londonderry and in rural areas in general.

The figures provided in AQW 23283/17-22 are sourced from DWP’s Children in Low Income Families publication. The figures show that in 2019/20 East Derry had the 11th highest estimated number of children in relative poverty out of the 18 parliamentary constituencies.

Over the last five years, the estimated number of children in relative poverty in East Derry has slightly decreased, falling from approximately 4,700 in 2015/16 to 4,100 in 2019/20.

Helping children and young people who are experiencing or at risk of poverty remains a priority for my Department.

The 2016/19 Child Poverty Strategy has been extended to May 2022. It continues to provide focus to the Executive’s collective efforts to tackle the issues faced by children and families impacted by poverty.

Work is continuing on the development of the Executive’s Anti-Poverty Strategy, which is being developed using a co-design approach with involvement from key stakeholders throughout the process.