Children of addicts must be protected from benefit bans

Commenting on proposals in the new Drug Strategy announced by the Government today, Child Poverty Action Group’s Chief Executive, Kate Green, said:

“Children whose parents are out of work and struggling with drug addiction are a very small group that are extremely vulnerable to poverty. We all want to see parents with addictions succeed in turning their lives around, but tough approaches to parents must not harm the well-being of their children.

“James Purnell’s department recently published research warning that benefit sanctions can lead to greater health problems. With drug harm reduction agencies expressing concern about lack of high quality treatment programmes, there is a danger that tougher sanctions will only make poverty worse for the children of addicts.”

 

Notes for editors

• The report Qualitative research exploring the pathways to work sanctions regime, which warns benefit sanctions can lead to greater health problems, can be found at the DWP website.
  
  SUMMARY - http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/summ2007-2008/475summ.pdf
  FULL REPORT - http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2007-2008/rrep475.pdf
  
• 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