MEDIA RELEASE
EMBARGOED UNTIL: 00:01am FRIDAY 15th FEBRUARY
Government must draw on lessons from abroad to tackle
child poverty
In a report published today, leading children's charity the
National Children's Bureau (NCB) is calling on government to
urgently review its approach to reducing child poverty by drawing
on lessons from abroad.
'Tackling child poverty and promoting children's well-being:
lessons from abroad' suggests a number of solutions from other
countries for lifting children out of the poverty trap,
including:
- making child care more affordable for working mothers
- offering cash incentives for families to promote children's
health and well-being
- introducing neighbourhood anti-poverty zones
- establishing a ministerial child poverty board to drive forward
action across government.
Bringing childcare costs within the reach of low-income
families, and encouraging mothers into employment, is key to the
approach of countries like Denmark, where 84 per cent of mothers
with children under the age of 16 work, compared to just 67 per
cent in the UK[1]. To make childcare
more affordable, the government should consider increasing the
number of hours of free early education available, raising the
proportion of childcare costs covered by tax credits and Universal
Credit, and reviewing how after school care could be made more
readily available.
Supplementing families' incomes for engaging in activities that
promote child health and well-being is another measure which has
contributed to tackling child poverty. A scheme in New York has
shown how by providing families with additional cash on top of
existing benefits or tax credits, the government could increase
families' financial resources while encouraging the use of health
services and regular school attendance.
As well as tackling poverty at the individual and family level,
government must also develop a community-based approach that
recognises that poverty is concentrated in specific geographic
areas. A broad range of actions must be taken at the community
level to provide better economic opportunities, housing,
infrastructure, community safety and local services. To promote
this approach, government should fund local authorities to create a
number of neighbourhood-based Anti-Poverty Innovation Zones, as a
means of bringing together the full range of agencies and services
that promote children's well-being, and developing community
approaches to tackling child poverty.
Over arching this work, the government should set up a single body
to drive forward the delivery of its child poverty strategy across
government departments. To be effective, a single central
government delivery board, made up of ministers and supported by
senior civil servants, should have the power and authority to hold
government departments to account as they introduce measures to
tackle child poverty.
Enver Solomon, Director of Evidence and Impact at NCB said: 'If
the government's commitment to eradicate child poverty by 2020 is
to be met, it needs to think more creatively and examine
initiatives in other countries. By drawing on approaches from
abroad and applying them in the UK, we can not only improve the
finances of poorer families, but we can encourage them to engage
with services that bring real improvements to health and well-being
so increasing their resilience.'
'Government must focus less on how to measure poverty and act
decisively to introduce robust mechanisms for ensuring that
progress in the fight against child poverty is swift and permanent.
Critical to this is making childcare affordable for low income
families and overall taking a far more strategic cross government
approach that is driven by a powerful ministerial board.'
'Tackling child poverty and promoting children's well-being:
lessons from abroad' is available at:
www.ncb.org.uk/media/892335/tackling_child_poverty_1302013_final.pdf
ENDS
For more information, please contact the National Children's
Bureau's media office for on 0207 843 6047 or email media@ncb.org.uk. For urgent
enquiries out of office hours call 07721 097 033.
Notes to Editors
About the National Children's Bureau
The National Children's Bureau is a leading children's charity
that for 50 years has been improving the lives of children and
young people, especially the most vulnerable. Working with
children, and for children, we strive to reduce the impact of
inequalities by influencing government using our extensive research
and expertise, being the voice for front-line practitioners, and
inspiring creative solutions on issues including health, education
and care. Every year we reach more than 100,000 children and young
people through our membership scheme, links with voluntary,
statutory and private organisations, and the 30 specialist
membership programmes that we host.
For more information visit www.ncb.org.uk
