'Too many parents have got stuck on benefits or in precarious, low-paid jobs with only quick-fire jobcentre appointments and no real support to get work that pays. A serious plan that tackles the obstacles for would-be workers is welcome. A high-quality employment support service involving local authorities, tailored advice and skills training is long overdue as is a childcare programme that provides an affordable place for every parent that needs one but we hope that childcare will be available to cover training periods for parents who need to skill up in order to get a job with prospects.'
As food bank use continues to soar to unprecedented levels, the Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN) wants to see the UK without the need for charitable food aid, where adequate and nutritious food is affordable to all. But what is driving increasing demand for food aid? What is the problem with responding to food insecurity this way? What role do cash payments play as responses to poverty and destitution? And why is a ‘cash first’ approach the way forward?
In the spring 2023 Budget, there was an unexpected £4 billion investment in early years childcare, meaning £4 in every £5 spent on childcare is now coming from the government. How does investment on this scale change the debate on childcare? What role does childcare play in changing life chances? And what would a better system look like?
Several government ministers have churned out a line about work being the best route out of poverty, but does it hold any truth? The evidence submitted to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Poverty for its report suggests that this is far from the case.
Emergency support is financial and in-kind support provided by local authorities in England and Scotland, and by the Welsh government. What role can it play in reducing demand for food banks and food aid in Britain? CPAG has just concluded a two year research project, Ending the Need for Food Banks, to examine how emergency support could be redesigned so it does just that. What could this new system look like?
The year 2020 has put unprecedented pressures on families bringing up children. Parents across the world have taken on new challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic in keeping their children healthy and safe as well as properly fed, educated and entertained at a time when they have been required to stay at home, and when many families’ livelihoods have been threatened. Our cost of a child report looks at what items families need to provide a minimum socially acceptable standard of living for their children in 2020.
