Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) Email Newsletter: January 2008

JANUARY 2008

Dear Colleague

Welcome to the latest News from CPAG,keeping you updated on our campaigns, policy work and other activities.

Quick link contents:

CPAG's Chief Executive, Kate Green, set out the challenges for reaching the child poverty target ahead of a major keynote speech from the Secretary of State for Children Schools and Families, Ed Balls.

The audience of over 70 chief executives and senior representatives from charities, businesses, faith groups and other organisations heard the Secretary of State respond to her challenge with a clear recommitment to halving child poverty by 2010 and ending it by 2020.

He made clear that the Government would not be steered away from its commitments by tight public finances and growing economic uncertainty, saying "You don't abandon your goals when the going gets tough, you redouble your efforts."

Campaigners broke off into small groups to plan how public support can be built by the Campaign to End Child Poverty members to ensure that the 2010 target is met on the way to ending child poverty by 2020.

Welfare rights workers call for real life stories of poverty to shatter myths

A workshop, held jointly by CPAG and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, on expanding influence for welfare rights workers, has shaped CPAG's plans to create a new case studies network to strengthen our campaigning, lobbying and media work.

CPAG's Press Officer, Tim Nichols, said "There is a worrying growth in negative public attitudes towards people in poverty, especially benefit claimants. This is driven by a lack of understanding about life in poverty and sometimes prejudice. Our public campaigning will be greatly strengthened if we can get people's stories across."

Workshop participants discussed how their own expertise, and case studies drawn from their clients, could be used in campaigning, lobbying and media work. Participants encouraged CPAG to take a central role in a new case studies network so that stories that reveal the truth about the lives of those in poverty reach journalists, the public and politicians.

CPAG now plans to launch a new case studies and media volunteers section of our website early this year. It will act as a central point through which welfare rights advisers and CPAG's members and supporters can help provide case studies.

CPAG's parliamentary campaigning helped produce a strong rebuke to Treasury Ministers over the failure of the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) to explain how meeting the 2010 child poverty target will be resourced.

Kate Green wrote to the Chair of the Committee pointing out that the Treasury had completely failed to act on the Committee's repeated calls for details to be provided alongside the CSR on how the 2010 target will be met and resourced. The Committee subsequently published CPAG's letter as formal evidence for its enquiry and devoted a full chapter of their Report on the CSR to child poverty.

The Chairman of the Committee, John McFall MP, said: "The 2010 child poverty pledge should not be seen as an optional extra in the Government's programme for the remainder of this Parliament. The simple consequence of failing to meet it is that many children will continue to live in households in poverty for too long."

You can help persuade the Chancellor to address the failings of the CSR by announcing a Budget to end child poverty.

The Campaign to End Child Poverty has an easy email form so you can quickly and easily send your message to the Chancellor:

CPAG annual debate: are charities sleepwalking into a conflict of interests?

On 7th December CPAG invited Dame Suzi Leather, Chair of the Charities Commission; David Freud, the Government's welfare reform adviser; and CPAG Trustee, Sharon Wright, to lead a public debate.

Lively contributions from both the panel and the floor got deep into questions surrounding proposals to involve charities in delivering the Government's 'welfare to work' agenda.

We were delighted that so many CPAG members were able to attend and express their concerns about voluntary sector delivery of government welfare programmes directly to David Freud, one of the key architects of the Government's reforms. We are grateful to David for his willingness to hear out the strong concerns of those present.

Sharon Wright, CPAG Trustee and Lecturer in Social Policy at the University of Stirling, warned that similar programmes in Australia have not been a positive experience for charities. Many Australian voluntary sector organisations are now expressing regret at having become involved in delivery of state 'welfare to work services'. Dame Suzi Leather expressed concern that the Charities Commission had found that many charities currently involved in delivery public services say it directs them away from their core mission towards government priorities. Charities are also frequently unable to recover their full costs, so are effectively subsidising government programmes.

CPAG is grateful to The Baring Foundation and The City Bridge Trust for their support for the Rights, Advocacy and Independence project.

New child poverty toolkit for local government

CPAG has joined forces with Inclusion to develop a local toolkit for combating child poverty. It will support and challenge local government and agencies to to play their full role in bringing an end to child poverty.

New performance requirements for local authorities will increase the focus they can give to reducing child poverty. The kit includes analysis tools, local data and suggestions for how to go about improving local anti poverty work. This will help build on the range of anti-poverty tools local authorities already have at their disposal, such as education, child care and transport policies.

Though the toolkit is principally for local authorities, when it is up and running everyone concerned about poverty in their area should use it to push for better policies for children. It is due for launch this spring.

'Poverty in Scotland' report published

CPAG in Scotland has welcomed a new report from the Scottish Affairs Committee, for which they gave evidence, on Poverty in Scotland.

John Dickie, Head of CPAG in Scotland, welcomed MPs' recognition that "work is not an automatic route out of poverty" and that those unable to work "must be lifted out of poverty through the benefits system". He said: "The Government must now respond to the Committee's call for a minimum wage that would lift all full time employees and their families out of poverty and a genuine benefits safety net that would genuinely protect family security for those unable to work."

A follow up report, focussing exclusively on child poverty in Scotland, is to be launched on 4th February. Meanwhile the Scottish Government is expected to announce proposals for an anti-poverty strategy on 31st January.

New editions of Council Tax Handbook published

CPAG has published a new edition of the Council Tax Handbook. With yet another above inflation increase in Council Tax expected from most local authorities this year, the handbook provides important advice on help in meeting Council Tax bills.

With the help of examples, tables, legal references and a comprehensive index, the Council Tax Handbook explains all aspects of the tax including:

You can order a copy of the handbook and other CPAG publications here.

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CPAG is asking for views on what new training courses advisers would be interested in. Possible courses we are suggesting are:

You can use an CPAG training survey form to let us know if you would be interested in any of these possible courses.

Information about CPAG’s forthcoming welfare rights training courses can be linked to below. Our courses use expert trainers, most of whom are experienced welfare rights workers and have contributed to CPAG's handbooks. We provide a broad range of courses from introductions to welfare rights to advanced courses on specific areas.

Courses on the new Employment Support Allowance are now available.

Recent Changes in Intergenerational Mobility in Britain by Jo Blanden, Stephen Machin (Sutton Trust, December 2007)
Poverty, policy and the state: The changing face of social security by Michael O’Brien (Policy Press)
Disability Poverty in the UK by Guy Parckar (Leonard Cheshire Disability January 2008)
Working out of poverty: A study of the low-paid and the ‘working poor’ by Graeme Cooke and Kayte Lawton (IPPR, January 2008)
Racing away? Income inequality and the Evolution of high incomes by Mike Brewer, Luke Sibieta, Liam Wren-Lewis (IFS, January 2008)

CPAG’s reference library offers information, facts and figures on poverty and social exclusion in the UK. Use of the library is free to students, staff and researchers. It has an extensive collection of over 3,000 publications related to poverty and welfare rights, including all DWP research papers and an archive of CPAG’s own publications.

The library is open 3 days a week - usually Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday - by appointment, when the Information Officer will be available to assist researchers in person. One PC with internet access is available to use free of charge. A self service photocopier is available in the reception area to copy excerpts from books and journals at a cost of 5p per copy.

For further information and a map please visit our website at www.cpag.org.uk/info

Child Poverty Action Group is a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales.
Registered No. 1993854 : Registered office: 94 White Lion Street, London N1 9PF.
VAT no. 690 8081 17 : Registered charity no. 294841
www.cpag.org.uk