Child poverty strategy launched
27 Jun 2014 04:30 PM
Supporting families into
work, improving living standards and raising educational attainment are the
fundamental aims set out in the government’s child poverty
strategy.
Supporting families into work,
improving living standards and raising educational attainment are the
fundamental aims set out in the government’s child poverty strategy,
published last week (26 June 2014).
As part of the
government’s long-term economic plan to build a fairer society, the
strategy sets out what is being done to tackle the root causes of child
poverty, building on the first strategy published in 2011.
The government remains committed
to the goal of ending child poverty in the UK by 2020 by breaking the cycle of
disadvantage based on the principle that where someone starts in life should
not determine where they end up. Work is the best route out of poverty, with a
child in a workless family 3 times as likely to be in relative poverty compared
to a family where at least 1 parent works.
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain
Duncan Smith said:
This strategy outlines our
commitment to tackling the root causes of poverty and delivering lasting change
that makes a real difference to children’s life chances.
Despite tough economic times
over the last few years, we’ve introduced reforms to the welfare system
that are transforming the lives of the most vulnerable in our society. As part
of the government’s long-term economic plan we are supporting more
families into work, improving living standards and raising educational
attainment.
Work remains the best route out
of poverty and with the economy now growing again we have more people in work
than ever before, as well as fewer children in workless households than at any
time since records began. These children now not only have a wage-earner in the
household, but perhaps even more importantly, they also have a role model to
look up to.
Schools Minister David Laws
said:
It is impossible to overstate
the impact poverty can have on a child’s education.
I am proud of the progress we
have already made – investing £3.75 billion in the Pupil Premium,
being used by schools to close the attainment gap and we have now extended the
Pupil Premium to 3 and 4 year olds. In addition, from September all infant
school children will receive a healthy meal for free, to make sure they are
ready to learn and can get the most from their time at school.
Poorer children are doing better
than ever at school but still more than 6 out of 10 still fail to secure good
grades. We are determined to improve the prospects of all children so that they
have the best possible opportunities later in life.
Good progress has already been
made in tackling child poverty. Despite the tough economic climate, employment
has increased by nearly 1.7 million since 2010 and there are now record numbers
of people in work.
Since 2010 the number of
children aged under 16 in workless households has fallen by 290,000 and there
are 300,000 fewer children living in relative income poverty. Poor children are
also doing better than ever at school, with the proportion of children on free
school meals getting 5 good GCSEs including English and maths increasing from
31% in 2010 to 38% in 2013.
Actions set out in the strategy
which the government are taking from 2014 to 2017 to tackle child poverty
include the following.
Supporting families into work
by:
- helping businesses to create
jobs
- helping people to take up work
through Jobcentre Plus and schemes such as the Work Programme and the Troubled
Families Programme
- making work pay and having
clearer work incentives through introducing Universal Credit, with more help
for childcare
- tackling low pay by raising the
minimum wage and the personal tax allowance, continuing to lift low-income
families out of the tax system
- helping people move on to better
jobs and improving the qualifications of parents through adult apprenticeships,
investing in English and maths and helping parents through the National Careers
Service
Reducing costs to support
people’s living standards by:
- reducing energy, extending the
Warm Home Discount and helping people to make their homes more energy
efficient
- capping the bills of low-income
families with 3 or more children on a water meter and promoting social
tariffs
- reducing food costs for
low-income families through introducing free school meals for all infant school
pupils alongside Healthy Start Vouchers for young children, breakfast clubs in
deprived areas, and free fruit and vegetables at school for primary school
children
- reducing transport costs for
low-income families
- increasing access to affordable
credit for low income families through expanding credit
unions
Raising educational attainment
by:
- increasing the number of poor
children getting quality pre-school education
- introducing an Early Years Pupil
Premium to help ensure 3 and 4 year olds from the most disadvantaged
backgrounds get the best start in life
- ensuring poor children do better
at school by giving disadvantaged pupils an additional £14,000 throughout
their school career – a £2.5 billion a year commitment through the
Pupil Premium
- supporting poor children to stay
in education post-16 through training, apprenticeships, traineeships, and
better careers advice
- helping parents provide the best
possible home environment by supporting parenting classes and providing free
books to poor families
- helping parents who experience
mental health issues, investing in drug and alcohol dependency treatment and
supporting young carers
- increasing support for children
with Special Educational Needs
More
information
The Child Poverty Act 2010
requires us to set a persistent child poverty target by December 2014. To
achieve this we are also publishing aconsultation on a persistent child poverty target
Read the Child Poverty
Strategy 2014-17
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