A staggering two million British children now have no parent in work and the number of children in families having to survive on benefits has jumped by 170,000 in just twelve months, according to a new report published today by the Campaign to End Child Poverty - a coalition of more than 150 organisations, including UNICEF UK. Child poverty is growing in affluent areas as well as those traditionally hard hit.
Through Thick and Thin: Tackling Child Poverty in Hard Times, written by leading social policy researcher Donald Hirsch, provides strong evidence for the government to implement End Child Poverty’s Recession Recovery Package.
The report warns that the number of children in families without jobs is rising to its highest level for a decade. It claims that without substantial investment now, 2.3 million children will be living in poverty in 2010 - more than half a million above the government’s target. Investing £4 billion would take the government close to its aim of halving child poverty.
Donald Hirsch said, “We couldn’t afford to let the banks fail and now we can’t afford to fail our children; our future. Rising unemployment has created a new poverty crisis which could leave children scarred for life and cost society some £25 billion a year. This dwarfs the investment needed to hit the target to halve child poverty by 2010.”
“Child poverty must be at the top of the political agenda – the latest increases in unemployment will only deepen the UK’s child poverty crisis and highlight the need to act now,” said Anita Tiessen, Deputy Executive Director, UNICEF UK.
“Children should be the very last in our society to bear the brunt of hard times - the Convention on the Rights of the Child makes it clear that children need special protection from poverty and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child last year called on the UK government to do more to eradicate the poverty affecting four million children in the UK.”
The report contains some surprises. Affluent Berkshire and Surrey have suffered the highest proportionate rises in unemployment. And there has been an 18 per cent rise in families with both parents out of work. After housing costs, a couple with two small children is left with £225 a week for everything, which puts them £115 below the poverty line.
The report also urges the government to give better financial support to parents who are out of work or in low-paid jobs, to help make work pay during the recovery.
End Child Poverty is calling for people to contact their local MP, the Chancellor and their local newspaper to press the government to invest in financial support for families in the Pre-Budget Report and action the Recession Recovery Package.
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