Ending Child Poverty?

In this week’s Chronicle, Delyn MP, David Hanson, announced he is “100% committed to supporting measures to reduce child poverty” after witnessing the End Child Poverty Coalition’s visit to Westminster. He added, “there is much more to be done. That’s why I am publicly backing the campaign to end child poverty.”

Jonathan Stearn, End Child Poverty Director, said: "Labour has renewed its pledge to halve child poverty by the end of this decade, but has only removed 100,000 children from poverty in the last year. Much more radical action is needed if it is going to fulfill."

Child poverty defies government targets: 3.5 million children were still living below the breadline towards the end of Tony Blair's seventh year in office. In spite of its investing billions of pounds in tax credits and incentives to get lone parents into work, the number of children in households below the official poverty line fell by only 100,000 in 2003-4 after housing costs were taken into account, the Department for Work and Pensions said. Inequality was marginally higher than the level inherited. "The net effect of seven years of Labour government is to leave inequality effectively unchanged and at historically high levels," it said.

End Child Poverty's Charter contends that the government should:

1. Raise child benefit and pay an equal rate to all children, whether first born or not
2. Extend child benefit to pregnant women
3. Link the child element in tax credits and benefits to average incomes (or prices if they are rising more quickly)
4. Ensure the National Minimum Wage provides a living wage
5. Take action, including extending the ten year childcare strategy, to help groups facing multiple barriers to work, including minority ethnic groups, disabled parents and parents of disabled children
6. Reform the Social Fund and provide grants for essential items and at times of key transition
7. Reform education funding formulae at local and national level to give greater weighting to poor children
8. Ensure poverty stops at the school gate by introducing school uniform grants and school activity funds.
9. Ensure all children, regardless of immigration status, qualify for benefits and inclusion in mainstream services
10. Poverty proof all policies across all government departments to tackle low incomes head on.