Comprehensive spending review 2007
What it needs to deliver on child poverty

Introduction

In July 2005, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced that the Government intended to launch a comprehensive spending review reporting in 2007. The 2007 spending review will cover government departmental expenditure allocations for 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11. It, therefore, covers the spending period to 2010 and is key to the target of halving child poverty, and for delivering Tony Blair's pledge to rid society of child poverty by 2020.

As part of the spending review process, the Treasury is conducting a 'Children and Young People' review, focused on improving service support to families with disabled children, young people and families at 'risk of becoming locked into a cycle of low achievement, high harm and high cost'.1 Although concentrating on the groups facing a high chance of being failed by education and other services, by focusing on services, it does not really engage with incomes. Moreover, many children are left outside its remit, in particular some groups that CPAG identified in At Greatest Risk, such as asylum-seeking children and children in large families. Other activity is, therefore, needed if the targets on reducing child poverty are to be met.

However, the signs are that this is likely to be a tight spending round for both HM Customs and Revenue (HMRC) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Both HMRC and the DWP are implementing significant staff cuts following the Gershon review, and in the March Budget the Chancellor announced a 5 per cent real-term reduction in each department's budget through to 2010/11; no doubt partly preempting the spending review's reforms.

This paper is CPAG's submission to the spending review; it notes and paraphrases other analysis we have produced on specific areas of policy. It sets out the policies and measures CPAG believes are necessary to meet the Government's targets. But first we assess the Government's record on child poverty.

Notes

1 E Balls MP, written ministerial statement on the Children and Young People review, July 2006

Comprehensive spending review 2007
What it needs to deliver on child poverty

Contents page
Introduction
The Government’s record
What should the spending review deliver?
Provide most for those children at greatest risk of poverty
Work towards better jobs, not just more jobs
Ensure the safety net protects families against poverty
Maximise the contribution of child benefit within family support
Introduce free at the point of delivery good-quality childcare
Make the reduction of child poverty central to the new child support policies
Make education truly free at the point of delivery
Provide benefit entitlement to all UK residents equally, irrespective of immigration status
Reduce the disproportionate burden of taxation on poorer families
Improve the quality of delivery and gear it to the needs of the poorest families
Notes

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