Demanding the Government Tackle Child Poverty

Whilst the Conservatives continue to fight amongst themselves, the cost-of-living crisis continues to spiral out of control, and many children are suffering as a consequence.

I recently met with the Child Poverty Action Group as part of the End Child Poverty coalition to the drivers of poverty in Bootle and ways in which this can be tackled.

Statistics released by the group shows that the biggest driver of rising child poverty has been cuts to social security, such as Child Benefit and in-work benefits.

In Bootle the average family loses £61 from each UC payment for deductions, sadly affecting 5600 children in the area. This totals in a staggering £409,000 deducted from UC recipients in Bootle in a single month.

Moreover, 570 children in Bootle are in families subject to the benefit cap and meaning they receive £170 less than their assessed need every month.

End Child Poverty are therefore calling on the Government to ensure families get access to their full benefit entitlement by abolishing the benefit cap and reducing the amount deducted from UC awards for debt repayments (such as historical tax credit overpayments). They are also demanding that the Government improve access to free and affordable childcare as well as free school meals.

Currently, to be eligible for free school meals, a household on Universal Credit in England must earn less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including benefits), regardless of the number of children in the family. This low threshold means that many children from working families in poverty aren’t entitled to free school meals, despite being unable to meet the costs.

These policies are simply unacceptable at a time where many families are finding themselves on the breadline due to spiralling prices and bills.

To find out more about the campaign visit:
End Child Poverty - Campaigning for an end to child poverty