Budget must get child poverty targets back on track, says CPAG
16.03.06

Gordon Brown must use next week’s Budget to ensure that the Government gets back on track to meet its child poverty targets, a leading campaign group said today. The call came after figures last week showed that Ministers had fallen short of their first target to cut child poverty by a quarter, on the road to halving it by 2010 and ending it by 2020.

In a Budget submission to the Chancellor (52 KB pdf file), the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) said it welcomed the progress made so far but called for more to be done for low-income families.

CPAG’s Chief Executive Kate Green said today:

“Next week’s Budget and the 2007 Spending Review need to demonstrate that in a tougher economic climate the political will and financial resources to eradicate child poverty are still there.

“Ministers must remember that work can be a good but not guaranteed route out of poverty. More than half the children currently in poverty have at least one parent in paid employment, so increased wage levels and investment in skills will remain vital in the years ahead.

“For those who would like to work but find it difficult or impossible to do so the Budget should signal more action to remove the barriers in their way. For instance, further investment in good quality, flexible and affordable childcare is critical if the lone parent employment rate is to rise further.

“And for those who cannot work the safety net of the welfare state leaves most families well below the poverty line. The Chancellor should acknowledge that as long as benefits rise only in line with prices, many families will fall even further behind.

“Improving the administration, take-up and value of tax credits is vital, but so too is raising the value of child benefit which is clamed by 98 per cent of families. To tackle child poverty in larger families, the Chancellor should consider increasing child benefit further and raise the rate for second and subsequent children to the rate for the first child.

“The Budget should also offer assistance and reassurance to the low-income families who will be hardest hit by the recent hikes in domestic energy prices.”

 

Notes to Editors:
Download CPAG’s Budget submission (52 KB pdf file)

For further information please contact:
Alex Belardinelli
CPAG Press Officer
Tel. 020 7812 5216 or 07816 909302
abelardinelli@cpag.org.uk