Public says government must help poorest families, as charity launches campaign to end child poverty
Nearly 3 in 4 people in the UK believe the government should be doing more to help the poorest families cope with rising prices
Thursday 8 May 2008
Nearly 3 in 4 people in the UK (73%) believe the government should be doing more to help the poorest families cope with rising prices, according to a new YouGov survey carried out for End Child Poverty. The survey was published as the charity launched its "Keep the promise" campaign to make the government keeps its commitment to end child poverty.
The survey found that over half (54%) of those surveyed said their finances were worse than this time last year. More than a third (35%) said that they had to cut back on food, 36% said that they had cut back on fuel and 51% on clothing due to rising prices. Only 21% of people said that their finances were better than this time last year.
The impact of rising prices was most sharply felt amongst those on low incomes. Of those in households with a net income under £15,000 a year, over half (51%) said that they had cut back on food, 52% reported that they had cut back on fuel and 63% on clothing. This was in contrast to those in households with an income above £15,000 where only 32% of people reported that they had to cut back on food, 33% on fuel and 49% on clothing.
Currently 3.8 million children live in poverty. The government has committed to eradicating child poverty by 2020 and halving it by 2010, a target that will not be met without a £3 billion investment in benefits and tax credits in the next year.
Hilary Fisher, Director of End Child Poverty, said: "Families are struggling to cope with rising prices, but its clear those on the lowest incomes have been hardest hit and that the public believes the government should be doing more to help them."
Fisher added: "In the UK one in three children grow up in poverty and for them and their parents life is getting tougher. We want people to send a message to Gordon Brown that his government must keep its promise to the country's children."
To hold the government to their promise the campaign is calling on people to go to www.endchildpoverty.org.uk/promise where they can send a message to Gordon Brown to "keep the promise" and find out how else they can become involved. All these public calls of support will be represented at the largest ever event to end child poverty being held in Trafalgar Square on 4 October.
Martin Narey, Chief Executive of Barnardo's, and Chair of End Child Poverty said: "Poverty can affect every aspect of a child's life, from poor health to their success at school and later in work and escaping from poverty is more difficult than it was. There is a real economic case for UK PLC to hit the vital target of halving child poverty by 2010. Doing so will increase tax revenues and reduce both health and criminal justice costs. But the moral case is even more compelling. We cannot continue to condemn children to failure because they are unlucky enough to be born into families with too little money."
Phillipa Hunt, UK Poverty spokesperson for Save the Children, one of the members of End Child Poverty, said: "Child poverty in this country is a disgrace and these figures show overwhelming public support for helping the poorest families. With the 2010 child poverty target looming the government must put its foot on the accelerator."
Hunt added: "We are determined to hold the government to its promise, and that's why supporters of over a hundred organisations will be gathering in Trafalgar Square on 4 October to ensure that the promise of ending child poverty is kept."
Poverty experienced in childhood can have a lasting impact on children and their families. Children from poor homes are more likely to leave school earlier with fewer qualifications. Only 9% of children in the poorest fifth of the population attend university by the age of 23 compared to 46% in the wealthiest. Poverty also affects health, the life expectancy of the poorest children is a decade shorter and infant mortality is twice as high.
Ends
Notes to editors:
- The Campaign to End Child Poverty is a coalition of more than 110 organisations working to eradicate child poverty in the UK. It is formed from children's and other charities, social justice groups, faith-groups, trade unions and others concerned about the unacceptably high levels of child poverty in the UK. For more information, visit http://www.endchildpoverty.org.uk/
- The comments in this release represent the views of the Campaign to End Child Poverty and do not necessarily reflect the views of member organisations.
- The figures in the first three paragraphs of the release are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,051 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken 25 - 28 April 2008. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18 and above).
