More than half the children in some parts of Barnet borough are living in or on the brink of poverty, a report revealed this week.

Figures published by the Campaign to End Child Poverty (CECP) on Tuesday expose a huge disparity in wealth across the borough and show pockets of poverty, where up to 64 per cent of children are from low income families.

Relative to other London boroughs, Barnet has a low proportion of children from poor families, but some areas within it contain some of the highest concentrations in the capital.

More than 27,000 children live in or on the brink of poverty in the borough.

A child living in poverty is ten times more likely to die in infancy and five times more likely to die in an accident, while adults who lived in poverty as a child are 50 times more likely to develop a restrictive illness such as diabetes or bronchitis, according to the CECP.

Clement Mwatsama runs the Joy Bringers ‘r’ Us youth group in Grahame Park, in Colindale ward, where 64 per cent of children are from low income families and 45 per cent live in households where no one works.

“People need to acknowledge that however small they think the problem is, it needs to be addressed,” he said. “It’s largely ignored and there needs to be more interaction between the voluntary sector and the authorities.

“There are voluntary organisations trying to combat this but they need a lot of support, particularly from the Government and the council.”

Councillor Fiona Bulmer, cabinet member for children’s services, said: “The council has long been aware there are pockets of deprivation in Barnet and has been trying to persuade the Government to provide more resources to help us target these areas.”

Hendon MP Andrew Dismore, whose constituency covers the two wards with the highest proportion of parents out of work, said poverty in Barnet borough is “masked” by the wealthier areas.

But he stressed the Government had introduced measures to support parents back into training and work, such as benefits for lone parents in the early stages of a new job.

“You’re not going to solve poverty through the benefits system,” he said.

“You can ameliorate it, but to solve if you need to get people back into work.”

He believes the immigration system, which prevents people from working until their immigration status has been finalised, is a problem in ethnically diverse areas such as Burnt Oak and Colindale.

“There’s a strong argument to say they should be allowed to work and support themselves until a decision is made on their case,” he said. “It can also breed resentment because people don’t understand why they aren’t working.”

Cllr Bulmer said the council provided employment advice and training at children’s centres to help parents into work, and worked with the voluntary sector to target families in need.

She added: “Barnet’s excellent schools are providing children in these areas with the high quality education which will help them get good jobs when they leave school.”

A study published last year found that disadvantaged children are behind their peers when they enter school and are more likely to attend low-performing schools.

Professor Robert Cassen, from Finchley, who led the research team, said: “In areas where there are high levels of unemployment, some people think education will not help them, but it depends on aspiration.

“Low achievers at age 16 come disproportionately from areas of high unemployment, but we don’t know exactly why that is. It’s a very tangled, complex picture.”