Child Poverty: Political Consensus Or Electoral Battleground?
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Poverty135pp a/w 10/2/10 4:02 pm Page 6 feature Child poverty: political consensus or electoral battleground? There is now a political considering what Labour should do to acceler- ate our war against child poverty, one fact consensus now exists that above all should be borne in mind: the longer it high levels of child poverty takes to defeat child poverty, the harder victory will become. in the UK are unacceptable. More often than not, poverty – whether cultural, However, while all three familial or individual – begets poverty. With this parties support the Child in mind, the ten-year target of abolishing child poverty by 2020 seems exceptionally ambitious, Poverty Bill and its and it will require a series of social and economic policy measures to ensure that it is met. commitment to eradicate child poverty by 2020, Health outcomes are one of the single largest indicators of poverty in any area. It is a fact that differences of interpretation poverty reduces life expectancy – equally true that the health effects of poverty begin even and approach are emerging about the causes of before being born. There is a compelling case poverty and how best to reduce it. In this article, then for NHS resources to be targeted more effectively in the fight against poverty. Jamie Reed MP for Labour, Andrew Selous MP for the The journey from the maternity ward to the Conservatives and Steve Webb MP for the Liberal shadows of poverty is a quick one – and it Democrats analyse the issues and outline the begins the second a child is born into a family living in poverty, whether their poverty is relative policies their parties will be pursuing. or absolute. The NHS ensures that all of our children are born equal, but this equality withers the instant a child leaves hospital. The Labour view: Housing issues also require radical attention if we are truly to beat child poverty, and not We can choose to merely address its symptoms. It has been long acknowledged that overcrowded housing end child poverty stunts the development of children socially and educationally and, therefore, embeds many of Forty years after conquering the moon, that we the attributes which help to feed cultural poverty should still be discussing child poverty in the and deepen child poverty. Breaking the cycle of world’s fourth largest economy at the start of poverty, and of more children being born into the twenty-first century is a savage indictment poverty, means building more homes where of our society and the choices that we have they are needed, providing more living space for made. In this country of wealth and abundance, children where they can learn, grow, study, and the existence of poverty – and child poverty in enjoy a richer and stronger family life. particular – shames us all. In school, more early intervention needs to take No child chooses to live in poverty, and nowhere place to better identify children living in poverty in this country is it inexorable or unavoidable. In and then to take the necessary steps to help not 6 Poverty 135 Poverty135pp a/w 10/2/10 4:02 pm Page 7 feature only the child in question, but also the family The fight against child poverty in Britain is about unit. Early Years, Sure Start and other initiatives the kind of country we want to be, and it is a must be maintained and financially supported fight we must win. ■ from public funds – but more can and should be done. A commitment to nurture-group provision Jamie Reed MP is the Labour Member of Parliament for in every school would, experience suggests, Copeland reap superb rewards in identifying and address- ing issues associated with child poverty and with effectively solving these issues – for example, parental unemployment, family break- down, drug and alcohol abuse, lack of educa- A Conservative tional attainment and so on. It is important that family units of whatever type, size and shape approach: receive the help they need to ensure their children do not grow up in anything resembling Focus on families child poverty. I am proud to be serving in a party whose Effective support for a variety of family units will leader, David Cameron, has said he wants the always do more to help beat child poverty than government he aspires to lead to be judged on providing tax incentives for marriage. Although how it tackles poverty in office. Those senti- well intentioned, such a move would divert ments are nothing new for this party. From resources away from children, effectively pun- Shaftesbury to Disraeli, from Stanley Baldwin to ishing children for the relationship choices Rab Butler, we have always seen the relief of made by their parents. This can never be right poverty and the improvement of the conditions and the risk of giving moral sermons about mar- of all the people as a core part of our purpose. riage to the parents of children living in poverty runs the risk of driving the very children and Conservatives in Parliament are supporting the The taxation system, families we need to help out of the light and into Child Poverty Bill in its passage through as well as the the shadows. Parliament. We want to make it a better Bill so that it focuses policy on dealing with the deep- benefits system, With this in mind, the taxation system, as well as seated causes of poverty and also reverses the should be used in the benefits system, should be used in the fight recent increase of 400,000 children in poverty against child poverty. There is no doubt that since 2004. We think that this increase in child the fight against incentivising employment does work – it helps poverty calls for fresh thinking, which the Bill child poverty to break the cycle of cultural unemployment, it alone with its statutory targets fails to provide. encourages self-independence and aspiration, Our determination is to tackle the root causes of and it offers hope. Tax credits have undoubtedly poverty which have often kept several genera- helped in this regard, but now we should con- tions of families in poverty. sider going further and faster. How? Assuming mechanisms can be found which ensure that Labour and the Liberal Democrats have working parents and therefore their children do attacked some of our focus on dealing with the not stay ‘trapped’ at a particular income level, causes of poverty without offering any new or then serious consideration should be given to radical thinking from their benches. This is taking the working parents of the poorest chil- disappointing, given that the Joseph Rowntree dren out of the taxation system altogether. The Foundation has said that ‘the strategy against children of Britain who live in poverty never poverty and social exclusion pursued since the gambled the financial security of the UK on the late 1990s is now largely exhausted’.1 international money markets. We know that to eradicate poverty you have to In the years between 2010 and 2015 the UK create more wealth and make sure it is fairly economy will improve and the deficit will shared. You cannot defeat poverty through the reduce. A key feature of this recovery over this welfare system and the tax credit system on its period is likely to be the release of certain banks own. So, the people who start and grow busi- from public ownership, meaning that tens of bil- nesses will be in the front line of Conservative lions of pounds will have been returned to the plans to combat poverty – we will need to pay Exchequer. The policies required to defeat child special attention to those areas of our country poverty should have first call on these which are job deserts, where almost no one resources, and the money required to fund the works. Some local authorities, like Kent, are policies which will reduce and eventually eradi- taking the lead in this area, and we want to see cate child poverty must be ring-fenced. that best practice spread across the whole Poverty 135 7 Poverty135pp a/w 10/2/10 4:02 pm Page 8 feature Child poverty country. We recognise also that part-time and CPAG research has also identified the separa- flexible work is vital for many people who have tion of a couple as increasing the risk of pover- been out of work and who can not immediately ty more than any other trigger, including job cope with full-time work. loss.4 Conservatives recognise that family breakdown is both a cause and consequence of We believe that the success of welfare reform poverty. It is no coincidence that the UK has policy in getting people back to work is critical both one of the highest rates of child poverty in to defeating child poverty. CPAG has itself said Europe as well as one of the highest rates of that a ‘personalised, multi-faceted service is family breakdown. Our policy will be to give required to assist jobseekers successfully into families the support to help them stay together employment’,2 which is exactly what our party and make sure the benefits system does not policy of welfare reform offers, based on the work against this. original proposals of my fellow Conservative frontbencher Lord David Freud. We also need a I look forward to the full engagement of both benefits system that works to incentivise work local government and the voluntary sector in more for the lowest paid and that is what David the fight against child poverty, as ending child Conservatives Cameron has asked George Osborne and poverty is indeed everybody’s business.