This week the Prime Minister and Chancellor unveiled their Spending Review for 2021 – a chance to demonstrate to children at home and abroad that the Government was still on their side.
Instead, the Government has decided to break its promise to the British electorate and cut life-saving and life-changing support to millions of vulnerable people both at home and abroad, in the middle of a deadly pandemic and global climate crisis.
Let’s start with what this means in the UK. In March, the Government implemented a £20 per week uplift in Universal Credit - a lifeline for those struggling to put food on the table or heat their homes as the pandemic hit. The Spending Review was an opportunity for the Government to reassure these families that this vital boost would remain in place. By failing to do so, thousands of parents and children across the UK face yet more uncertainty as jobs vanish and incomes dwindle.
The commitment to spend 0.7 percent of national income on international development - the equivalent of a 70 pence donation for every £100 the nation earns – is far more than a mere signal that the UK is a confident, generous, and outward looking country. It is a commitment that saves and improves the lives of millions of children every year. By forcing through a 30 percent cut today, the Chancellor effectively announced that 5.6 million fewer children will be immunised – that 105,000 lives will no longer be saved. He effectively announced that 7.6 million women and girls would no longer gain access to family planning, that 3.8 people would not secure access to clean water, that 940,000 children would no longer be given an education. Is this really a risk worth taking?
2021 was supposed to be the year that Global Britain was unveiled to the world, with the UK hosting both the G7 and COP26 summits. Instead, the Government has decided to roll back its commitments and demonstrate a retreat from the world, while simultaneously dooming millions of children to a shorter, less educated, less stable life. And all while the international spotlight is shining brightest on Britain. It is as shameful as it is self-destructive.
As we approach the cold winter months, many families in the UK will struggle to provide the essentials their children need to grow and thrive. They will have to make agonising choices between putting food on the table and paying the next heating bill. These families need an immediate commitment from the Government that the uplift to Universal Credit will be kept past April. And abroad, the Government has chosen to balance the books on the backs of the world’s poorest people just when they needed our help the most. In doing so, it has diminished the role and reputation of our country on the world stage.
Now is the time for the Government to do the right thing for the poorest children.
