Concerns over Rising Child Poverty
In the four years from 2004 to 2008 the number of children living in "severe poverty" rose by almost 260,000 according to Save the Children. Currently there are 1.7 million children who fall into this category, and there are concerns that this number could rise even higher.
The government, however, says it has lifted half a million children out of relative poverty, and helped the very poorest. The discrepancy between this statement and the research carried out by Save the children can be explained by the way in which the government defines "severe poverty", with families needing to be substantially worse off financially to meet the government's definition of severe poverty. Consequently more children will fall within Save the Children's definition and be included in the statistics published today.
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The Government had pledged to halve child poverty by 2010 from the 1998/99 figure of 3.4 million and end it altogether by 2020. Work and pensions Minister Helen Goodman said: "Families with children in the poorest fifth of the population are, on average, £5,000 better off as a result of personal tax and benefit changes." She added "Without measures such as tax credits, employment help and the Sure Start programme, it is likely around 2 million more children would still be in poverty today. Significant investment made since the Budget of 2007 will lift a further 550,000 children out of poverty and we are helping to get parents into work by providing free childcare for three and four year olds. But there is still much more to do. We are determined to meet our ambitious goals and help break the cycle of deprivation - which is why we will enshrine in law our commitment to end child poverty by 2020." |
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There are however regional variations in the numbers of children estimated to be living in severe poverty. At the end of 2008 8% of children in Northern Ireland were extremely poor, while in Scotland it is 9% and the figure for England & Wales is 13% - a figure pushed up by the situation in London where 19% of youngsters live in severe poverty.
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At Citizens Advice we are striving to advise those individuals who come into bureau seeking assistance with issues which can lead to child poverty. We also aim to use the experiences of our clients to persuade government to react to this situation and have recently contributed to an evidence paper produced by Citizens Advice in England and Wales on Child Benefit. To read this paper please click the link below.
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www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/campaigns/policy_campaign_publications/evidence_reports/er_benefitsandtaxcredits/child_benefit_delays__the_impact_on_cab_clients-2