Child Poverty Action Group

Gaps in the social security safety net are a key reason why people are turning to food banks, according to the first in-depth study into the personal experiences of recipients of emergency food aid in the UK.

The findings of the jointly commissioned research published today by Oxfam, Child Poverty Action Group, Church of England and The Trussell Trust, also highlights some relatively simple fixes to the benefit system that could dramatically reduce the number of people who are left with little or no money to put food on the table.

Commenting on a BBC report today suggesting Government is considering cutting Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Alison Garnham Chief Executive of Child Poverty Action Group said:

 “The proportion of people in absolute poverty in families living with disability has gone up each year since 2009 and now stands at a shocking 22%1. Any cut in support would make it very much harder for families already reeling from austerity blows and would surely fail any credible family test.”

• 1. Households Below Average Income: An analysis of the income distribution 1994/95 – 2012/13, Jane Carr, Rachel Councell, Mary Higgs, Nancy Singh

Responding today to the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission’s recommendation that the legally binding target to end child poverty by 2020 needs to be revised given the failure to make progress, Chief Executive of Child Poverty Action Group Alison Garnham said:

“We have failed a generation of children who are growing up poor but we will fail them a second time if we bury our heads in the sand and pretend that the 2020 targets will now be met.

The Campaign to End Child Poverty has today published new figures that provide a child poverty map of the whole of the UK. The figures are broken down by parliamentary constituency, local authority and ward.

The figures reveal the wide disparity in poverty rates across the UK, between regions and striking variations even within regions.

The Campaign to End Child Poverty has today published new figures showing that London contains 14 out of the top 20 local authorities with the highest rates of child poverty across the UK. 

The Campaign is publishing today a new report and data that provides a child poverty map of the whole of the UK including a full data set showing the child poverty rate for every ward, local authority and constituency in London.

The Child Poverty Action Group this week publishes the Benefits for Migrants Handbook, a definitive guide to the social security entitlement conditions for people who have come to or are leaving the UK.

Responding today to the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s speech to the Lib Dem Conference, Chief Executive of Child Poverty Action Group Alison Garnham said:

“It was good to hear the Deputy Prime Minister emphasising how parents in working poverty are bearing the brunt of spending cuts. We should be moving heaven and earth to help the nearly two thirds of poor children living in working families, not condemning more children to join them.

Responding today to the Prime Minister’s speech at the Conservative Conference, Alison Garnham, Chief Executive of Child Poverty Action Group, said:

“What was missing in the PM’s speech was any recognition that independent projections show that child poverty rates are set to soar.

Commenting today on Chancellor George Osborne's announcement of a proposed two-year freeze on working-age benefits, Alison Garnham, Chief Executive of Child Poverty Action Group, said:

“This is bad news for working parents struggling on low wages, already coping with rising living costs and previous benefit cuts. A couple both working full time on the minimum wage are nearly a fifth short of the money they need for basics; another freeze will make it a whole lot harder for them.1 For many of these families a higher income tax threshold will be of little help since what they gain in wages is largely clawed back from their benefits*. Two thirds of poor children have at least one parent working.

• 1. CPAG's report on the cost of a child in 2014

Responding today to reports that the Government is planning to impose a more severe benefit cap of £23,000 pa per household, Alison Garnham, Chief Executive of Child Poverty Action Group, said:

“This is likely to increase the headcount of children in poverty in working and non-working families, a move that would surely fail any credible family test. It would also bypass the root causes of higher social security spending which include soaring childcare and housing costs and low pay. Politicians from all parties need to tackle these root problems as a priority rather than ripping away money from families who are struggling every day to pay for absolute basics. "