Child Poverty: National policy context and Implications of the

Child Poverty Bill

Claire Hogan

What we will cover today

Setting the scene

• Why does child poverty matter?

• The national policy context

• The implications of the Child Poverty Bill

Why does child poverty matter?

• Growing up in poverty is the principal determinant of life chances.

• As well as damaging individual lives poverty has a detrimental impact on communities and society as a whole. It can:

• Undermines economic regeneration ambitions

• Undermines community cohesion

The impact of child poverty

Reaches far wider than income deprivation. Children growing up in poverty are less likely to:

• achieve their academic potential

• secure employment in adulthood

• gain access to services designed to meet their needs

Educational attainment – key stats

• By age 3, being in poverty makes a difference equivalent to nine months development in school readiness

• By the time poor children are at secondary school the gap has widened. At age 14 poor children are two years behind.

• Children who do badly at primary school are less likely to improve at secondary school if they are poor

• Nearly one in five girls and more than one in four boys in receipt of free school meals leaves schools without at least five GCSE’s

• Just 15 percent of young people from unskilled backgrounds enter higher education by age 21 compared to 79 per cent of young people from a professional background

Impact of Poverty cont….

Children growing up in poverty are more likely to:

• experience unsafe environments

• suffer from social isolation

• experience a range of health inequalities

Child poverty - some basic facts:

• Half the children in poverty live in a household where someone is in work.

• Children in poverty are more likely to be in poverty themselves as adults

• Children under age 5 are at a greater risk of poverty than any other age group

The National Policy Context

Targets/definition

The Child Poverty targetIn 1999 the government set an ambitious target to :

• Reduce child poverty by one quarter by 2005/2006• Half by 2010 and• Eradicate by 2020.

Cross party support for this agenda – with all three of the main political parties signed up to the

target

Defining and measuring child poverty

The government developed a tiered approach to measuring Child Poverty long term which looks at:

• Relative low income – i.e. it is about the poorest keeping pace with the rest of society. This particular measure is often referred to as the “poverty line” and relates to household income which is below 60 per cent of the median income.

• Absolute Low Income – whether the very poorest families are seeing their incomes rise in real terms

• Combined material deprivation and low income – this is a wider

measure of families living standards.

What does it actually mean to be in poverty?

Based on 2007/2008 figures (before Housing costs)

• Lone parent with two children (aged 5 and 14) - £239

• Couple with two children (aged 5 and 14) - £332

• Families in poverty often have less than £10 per person per day to live on.

The government has based its strategy around:

• Increased financial support for all families delivered through child benefit and child tax credit

• High quality public services

• Employment as the best route out of poverty – supported through labour market programmes, the minimum wage and tax credits.

Success so far…..

• In 2004/5 child poverty had fallen by 17% not 25% as hoped. The figures for 2005/06 alarmingly show a slight increase in the previous downward trend

• Despite 700,000 children being lifted out of poverty the government’s first child poverty target was missed.

• Need to intensify efforts (resources?) – hence the child poverty Bill

The implications of the Child Poverty Bill

Key requirements of Child poverty Bill

By 2020 the Government aims to reduce:

• to 10% the proportion of children living in relative low income (i.e. the 60% measure)to 5% the proportion of families living in combined low income and material deprivation

• the proportion of children experiencing persistent poverty

• the proportion of children living in absolute low income

Overview: Tackling the causes and consequences of child poverty

Timescales

• Bill to receive Royal Ascent in Spring 2010

• Draft guidance to follow shortly after

• Duties to be enforced within 2 months of the Bill receiving Royal Ascent.

What does the Bill mean for us locally?

• Completion of local needs assessments

• Co-operation and arrangements between local partners to mitigate the effects of child poverty

• Produce partnership wide child poverty strategies

• Demonstrate links to sustainable communities strategies

Most importantly

• The Child Poverty Bill ensures an ongoing and long term focus on the issue of child poverty.

• For those of us committed to the concept of social justice this long term focus is essential.

• We don’t want the children growing up in poverty today becoming the parents of children in poverty tomorrow!