End the culture of inequality to revive social mobility

Commenting on the speech by the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, to the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, the Chief Executive of Child Poverty Action Group, Kate Green, said:

“Today’s speech contained small steps that are welcome in themselves, but lacked the language and bold policies to strike at the heart of the problem.

“It is gross inequality that is the enemy of opportunity and social mobility. It is Britain’s exceptional gap between the richest and poorest that has created a gulf that can no longer be navigated. Our national ambition must be to end the damaging culture of inequality that has Britain in its grip more than almost every other wealthy country.”

On pilots to provide £200 Child Development Grants to disadvantaged families for engagement with Sure Start, she added:

“Many of the most disadvantaged families are not using the important Sure Start services. The Government is right to admit the problem and to invest in pilots that could improve engagement with Sure Start. The grant will come at a helpful time to parents of young children struggling to make ends meet.

“Grants to improve engagement with key services are welcome, but the Government must ensure this principle does not turn into a negative form of conditionality that withholds essential income from poor families.”

Notes for editors

• The Government was criticised by the Public Accounts Committee in its report on Sure Start centres in July 2007 for poor take-up of Sure Start services by some of the most disadvantaged families and for the lack of outreach initiatives by majority of Sure Start centres. The Government accepted the criticism and prior to today’s announcement had already announced funding to ensure there are at least two outreach workers in every children’s centre for areas with high levels of disadvantage.
• The pilot programme providing £200 payments to families for engagement with Sure Start services was first announced alongside the Budget in the HM Treasury and Child Poverty Unit report ‘Ending child poverty: everybody’s business’. It is a programme that is in part based on international models like Opportunity NYC (New York), Bolsa Familia (Brasil) and Oportunidades (Mexico).
• 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 100 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