UK child poverty
Reaction to the 2009 UK Budget
“This Budget is incredibly disappointing — just £140m in child tax credits has been set aside for families living in poverty. Despite Alistair Darling’s words today renewing the government’s commitment to eradicating child poverty, the Government will now miss the target of halving child poverty by 2010.” said Colette Marshall, Director of UK Programmes
The Government has succumbed to the notion that social justice is a luxury it can't afford in a recession but this is short-sighted. Most of the major economies have invested a substantial portion of their fiscal stimulus packages in low income households as one of the most effective means of boosting their economies. Apart from Russia and the UK, all other wealthy G8 nations have invested in low income families as a way to boost the economy.
The government needs to invest directly in low income families through increases in tax credits; benefits and seasonal grants. It is only by increasing family income can the standard of living for children in poverty be improved.
Save the Children welcomes the money that has been invested in schemes to train and provide jobs for unemployed young people. If young people are given a helping hand onto the jobs ladder, fewer of tomorrow’s children will be raised in poverty. But this does not tackle the problem of the 3 million children living in poverty today and the government should have done more to try and meet the target they set on ending child poverty.
Families in Crisis in the UK
Save the Children has declared a ‘crisis for children’ in the UK as it partners with Family Action, which has an established grants programme, to deliver £150,000 to those families most in need in the UK. The money will be given to help pay for basic essentials
In its briefing, Families in Crisis, Save the Children warned of a ‘perfect storm’ of factors conspiring against the UK’s poorest families. These include rising unemployment, rising food prices, a housing crisis and increased emotional stress. The combination of factors means that families who have never struggled financially before, are living in the shadow of poverty.
Save the Children is working with British Gas and Family Action to deliver small grants of between £100 and £200 to some of the UK’s poorest families as the financial crisis takes hold.
Save the Children, a member of the Campaign to End Child Poverty is calling for the government to invest at least £3 billion in the poorest families as a one-off cash injection in this Budget. They should then follow that up with a long-term investment in the country’s poorest children. Without this spending the government will break its own promises of halving child poverty by 2010 and ending it by 2020.
This project is designed to help those families at crisis point. It will provide vital help to a small number of families but we can not do this alone. The government has to help.
Colette Marshall, Director of UK Programmes.
“Save the Children has launched hundreds of grants projects in developing countries to help children in crisis. The UK public generally believes there's no need for this sort of crisis grant here, but today Save the Children is helping distribute money to families right on our doorsteps. If the Government can find money for the banks then why can't it find money for our children?”
Grants are available in England, Scotland and Wales and assistance will be primarily targeted at any low income family with children &/or any young person (up to the age of 18 years old), particularly those living on benefits or have just lost their jobs. The North of Ireland is not covered by these crisis grants because of the unique step taken by the devolved Executive to make £150 one-off household fuel payments this week.
To find out how to apply for a crisis grant please visit the Family Action website. You can also donate to our appeal.
UK must invest in its poorest households
Save the Children has published a report showing that of all the G8 nations only Russia has spent less money than the UK on helping its poorest citizens as part of their financial bailout packages. International economists have argued that the best way to kick start the economy is to invest in the poorest households — because they spend, creating demand and jobs.
On 2 April 2009, G20 leaders met to discuss how to respond to the economic crisis, and later in April, Alistair Darling announced the UK’s response in his annual budget.
Save the Children called upon Mr Darling use the budget to keep the government’s promise to end child poverty and give £3bn to low income families — not just to help families in poverty and crisis, but to help the economy recover.
Investing in Child Poverty as a Fiscal Stimulus (PDF 84k)
We're stepping up the campaign to end child poverty in the UK. Following on from the brilliant rally last October, we want to demonstrate to the government that more and more people are adding their support to the call to end child poverty. Join our Facebook cause today, send it to all your friends and check out some more photos.
Members of the Campaign to End Child Poverty demonstrate outside House of Commons. Join our Facebook cause today, send it to all your friends and check out some more photos.
Save the Children send a message to the Government about child poverty in the UK. Join our Facebook cause today, send it to all your friends and check out some more photos.
Find out more about child poverty
Read about our work in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
- See our poverty briefings and reports. We’ve got loads of research in our online library.
- Visit the End Child Poverty Coalition website, or the Family Action.
- Read the book Why Money Matters: Family income, poverty and children’s lives, for up-to-date evidence and a compelling look into the root of this cause.
- Read more about poverty:
Child poverty in the UK
In the UK, 1.4 million children live in severe poverty. That means their families survive on an average of £7,000 a year after housing costs (for a couple with one child). With £7,000 a year a family has only £19 a day to cover fuel and other bills, food, clothes, washing, transport, activities for children and everything else.
What’s the government doing about UK poverty?Alistair Darling's first budget saw a recommitment to halving child poverty by 2010 and ending it by 2020. This is their promise. We want them to keep it.
Save the Children is calling on the government to give serious consideration to seasonal grants. These payments help impoverished families through the most expensive and difficult times of the year.
Get involved
Have you read our blog? Have you got a story to tell about UK child poverty? Leave a comment on our blogs section, or contact us today to become a guest blogger: c.lever@savethechildren.org.uk.
Related news
- Tuesday 31 March 2009 Glasgow girls on a London mission to end child poverty
- Four teenagers from the east end of Glasgow are to visit Downing Street with a message for Chancellor Alistair Darling: to end child poverty.
- Thursday 25 September 2008 We’ve saved the bankers — now let’s save the children
- As Gordon Brown meets world leaders in New York this week, Save the Children today urges the Prime Minister to bring home a deal that could save millions of children’s lives.
