Gordon Brown urged to ‘play ball’ to end child poverty

Marking the UN day for the eradication of poverty the Child Poverty Action Group has joined with over fifty other organisations as part of the Campaign to End Child Poverty to urge much greater action in the forthcoming spending review. On the same day the Government has also issued its annual poverty and social exclusion audit Opportunity for All.

Writing to the Chancellor the Campaign to End Child Poverty said:

“In the last five years you have championed the issue and this government has lifted 700,000 children out of poverty, a considerable achievement. But it is not enough… It is clear that current policies and resources will not enable the government to reach its aim of halving child poverty by 2010 and eradicating it by 2020. More needs to be done.

“This is why we, members of the Campaign to End Child Poverty, are calling on you now to commit the extra £4 billion needed to keep the 2010 target on track in the 2008 Comprehensive Spending Review. Unless you commit this money now we believe you will fail your targets.”

CPAG’s Chief Executive Kate Green added:

“The Government has made significant progress in reducing child poverty, and the Chancellor has shown his personal commitment in delivering on the target of eradicating child poverty. However the progress has been far too slow and the first target to reduce poverty has been missed. The challenge remains large as today’s publication of Opportunity for All graphically demonstrates, however the Rowntree Foundation have provided a roadmap for meeting the interim target to halve child poverty by 2010, CPAG urges the Government to use this analysis and to redouble its efforts in the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.

“The cost of tackling poverty is affordable – the Rowntree Foundation have costed this at just 0.3% of GDP, but the cost of not doing so – to children and to society is not – that’s why CPAG have joined with others in the Campaign to End Child Poverty to call on Gordon Brown to play ball to end child poverty.”

For further information please contact:
Paul Dornan
Head of Policy and Research
Tel. 020 7812 5201 or 07816 909302
Email: press@cpag.org.uk
Website: http://www.cpag.org.uk

Notes to editors:

1. CPAG is a member of the campaign to End Child Poverty. Together we are leading a Month of Action calling on the Government to deliver the resources needed to end child poverty, once and for all. Visit www.endchildpoverty.org.uk to find out more.
2. As part of policy to reach the target to halve child poverty, CPAG is leading a coalition of organizations calling for Child Benefit to be increased and for the rate paid on behalf of younger children to be raised to that paid for the first, find out more at www.makechildbenefitcount.org
3. The Joseph Rowntree Report, ‘Ending Child Poverty firing on all cylinders’, is available at www.jrf.org.uk
4. The Department for Work and Pensions’ annual poverty and social exclusion audit, Opportunity for All is available at www.dwp.gov.uk/ofa