Inequality
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Fair for who? Child maintenance and family tests.
Advice and Rights Manager 18 August 2014
Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that he wants to see all domestic government policies subjected to a ‘family test’ in future, apparently to ensure that families aren’t undermined or made worse off financially. But does the ‘family test’ itself pass the test?
Initially at least, it may be difficult to understand why anyone would be against such an approach. Indeed, we have been arguing that government should pay attention to a wide range of policy areas, such as employment, benefits, and family support services, to reduce child poverty and help improve the lot of poor families for many years.
One concern, however, is that it’s unclear whether the proposed ‘family test’ applies to lone parent families, too.
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How the poor have been hit hardest by inflation
Senior Policy Officer 20 March 2014
It’s hardly news that the incomes of poorer families have been squeezed until the pips squeak. Declining real wages, underemployment and cuts to social security have all combined to drive down the living standards of those at the bottom of the income distribution in recent years. But low-incomes families have had to contend with another downward pressure that until yesterday we may have intuited, but hadn’t yet seen fully evidenced.
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Promoting fairness? Lowering the benefit cap will push more families into poverty
Trainee Solicitor 25 July 2016
This autumn the benefit cap will be cut, squeezing low-income families even further and pushing more people into poverty. The Welfare Reform & Work Act 2016 lowers the cap to £23,000 per annum for families (or £15,410 for single claimants) in London and £20,000 for families (or £13,400 for single claimants) outside of London. There are currently 3.9 million children living in poverty. Projections from the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggests that child poverty could rise by 50 per cent by 2020. Tightening the cap and taking away more support from low-income households will have a devastating effect on families and children.
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Supreme Court to decide on ‘unlawful’ bedroom tax
Trainee Solicitor 23 February 2016
Following last month’s victory in the Court of Appeal, the battle continues for Paul and Sue Rutherford and their severely disabled grandson, Warren. The Court held that the ‘bedroom tax’ (or under-occupancy penalty) is in breach of the Human Rights Act 1998, unlawfully discriminating against disabled children requiring overnight care and victims of domestic violence living in Sanctuary Scheme Homes (in the case of ‘A’). The Government was quick to appeal this decision. We have been representing the Rutherford family since 2013 and will be in the Supreme Court defending the Court of Appeal’s decision from 29 February. SSWP v Rutherfords has been joined with other bedroom tax cases, MA & Others and A.
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Tackling the ‘two New Yorks’: what can London learn?
London Campaign Co-ordinator 12 January 2014
As Londoners start to consider who their next mayor could be, does the New York race give clues for the London campaign?
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The first 100 days - what should a progressive government implement?
Senior Policy and Research Officer 29 April 2015
We contributed an essay to a new publication by the Centre for Labour and Social Studies: The first 100 days - what should a progressive government implement? -
The independence referendum: what does it mean for child poverty?
Director of CPAG in Scotland 15 September 2014
With just a few days to go before the Scottish independence referendum John Dickie, Director of CPAG in Scotland, highlights how CPAG has informed the terms of debate and argues that the challenge now for anti-poverty campaigners is to ensure that heightened public engagement and concern with child poverty in campaign debates is harnessed for real change, wherever powers end up lying after September 18th.
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The limits of Universal Credit
Chief Executive 6 March 2015
This article originally appeared in the Bright Blue and the Fabian's publication A future without poverty.
Since 2010 the Government has overseen an ambitious, large-scale programme of income redistribution.
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Tribunal ruling on DLA entitlement for disabled refugee children
Trainee Solicitor 19 April 2016
CPAG welcomes the Upper Tribunal decision on disabled refugee children who up to now, have not been entitled to disability living allowance (DLA) until they have spent over two years in the UK. On 17 March 2016, Judge Kate Markus QC found that the current past presence test unjustifiably discriminates against refugees and their family members and should therefore be dis-applied.
