Welfare reform has steered away from a right to support into decent work

Commenting on the government’s new legislative programme announced in the Queen’s Speech, the Chief Executive of Child Poverty Action Group, Kate Green said:

“Enshrining the target to eradicate child poverty in law should unite MPs across the House to put the wellbeing of children at the heart of our national priorities.

“Just a year ago Britain was judged to be the worst in a UNICEF list of wealthy countries for the wellbeing of our children. But British people do not believe their children should suffer worse poverty and diminished lives compared to children in other countries. In every seat voters will be looking to their own MP to support this important commitment to our children and the future of Britain.”

On new welfare reforms she said:

“Scrapping income support is wrong, especially when high quality support services are not in place. The direction of welfare reform has steered away from access as of right to the crucial services and support claimants need, like high quality child care, decent work and training, to a regime of mistrust and punishment.

“Fraud has been cut by 66% since 2001 and is at its lowest recorded levels. More benefit is lost through error and claimants may now become innocent victims of punishment for errors wrongly labelled as fraud in a benefits system so complex that even the Government’s welfare reform Tsar [David Freud] confessed he couldn’t understand it.

“Lie-detecting software is still not scientifically proven and the Government has not evaluated its impact on people affected by specific disabilities. Extending its use is fraught with risk and could lower take-up of benefits by vulnerable groups with a genuine entitlement to support.”

Notes for editors

• CPAG is the leading charity campaigning for the abolition of child poverty in the UK and for a better deal for low-income families and children.
• CPAG is one of over 130 member organisations of the Campaign to End Child Poverty, campaigning for public and political commitment to ensure the goals of halving child poverty by 2010 and ending child poverty by 2020 are met.

For further information please contact:
Tim Nichols
CPAG Press Officer
Tel. 020 7812 5216 or 07816 909302
tnichols@cpag.org.uk