A shocking three-quarters of households in Bolton are struggling to pay their energy bills and manage travel costs, it has emerged.

The stark statistics were presented to Town Hall chiefs who have drawn up a plan to tackle poverty in the borough.

The data was collected by the non-profit organisation Resolve Poverty, was presented in a report as part of Bolton Council’s Tackling Poverty Strategy which was discussed by Bolton Council cabinet group this week.

Eleven “priority actions” to address the root causes of poverty were detailed.

READ MORE: Bolton's child poverty figures among worst in the country

Low wages since 2010 linked to 44% rise in child poverty in UK working families

These include helping people to maximise their income, addressing employment barriers and improving access to affordable housing as part of a plan to prevent and reduce poverty.

The strategy was developed with Age UK, Resolve Poverty, Bolton at Home, DWP, Bolton Wanderers and Public Health.

But with communities across the borough areas facing rising costs and poverty levels, critics have argued the plan does not go far enough to tackle the issue head-on.

Conservative leader Cllr Martyn Cox, who represents Heaton, Lostock and Chew Moor said: “I do think there’s very little about tackling poverty in this report, most of it is about alleviating poverty – which is a good thing in itself. But I don’t read too much into it which says ‘this is going to solve poverty’.

“I think it's interesting that a number of organisations were consulted but wouldn’t you want to consult local businesses? [Ask them] why can’t you pay higher wages, why can you not take more people on, why can you not invest more money into Bolton, what are your investment plans for the future?

“Creating wealth is how you get rid of poverty, you see it across the world.

“The report also mentions the negative consequences climate change has on poverty, well our energy bills have gone up, we are paying twice as much in energy costs as our competitor nations, is that not creating poverty amongst those, those living in fuel poverty?

“Because issues like this are more difficult to address, the report pretends it doesn’t exist.

“The last Labour government found that in the years 1997 – 2007 when the economy was growing extremely well, poverty levels were increasing. It was only when the financial crash happened that these levels narrowed. That’s the metric we’re given by the government to measure poverty, it just doesn’t make much sense.”

But in response Labour leader, Cllr Nick Peele said that education and tackling unemployment remain the best ways of tackling poverty in Bolton and elsewhere.

He said: “In terms of the examples raised, if the economy is doing well, everybody’s doing better, but those at the top are doing even better and therefore the wealth gap grows. To me, that’s a perverse definition to say that poverty is getting worse, it is to say the gap has grown.

“This is clearly an anti-poverty strategy. It’s about what Bolton Council can do to make people’s lives better.”

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