Removing the cap would mean an additional £65 a week, on average, in the pockets of capped households, meaning an average capped couple with 2 children would be £85 below the poverty line.
A short Cost of the School Day briefing setting out what we’ve heard about school uniform from learners, families and their schools and what we think is important for stakeholders to bear in mind when responding to the current Scottish Government consultation on statutory national uniform policy guidance.
"The cost of living crisis has pushed many families to the brink as a difficult winter looms. With around 2 million children living in households affected by deductions, the Work and Pensions Select Committee is right to say that now is time to pause these repayments.
Families have had months of dread watching prices soar while government has delayed and delayed any response, pushing many ever closer to the brink. The new prime minister has the opportunity to demonstrate that she stands with hard-pressed families and will act in the interests of the nation’s children, who have been invisible for far too long. Long term investment in a social security system that protects kids from poverty is an essential starting point.
'Educational inequalities cannot be solved by the education system alone.’ The concluding words of the latest IFS Deaton Review report into inequalities in education came as absolutely no surprise to us here at CPAG, and no doubt to those working on the frontline within our education system either. Despite decades of initiatives, strategies and hard work being undertaken by schools, the disadvantage gap has been stubbornly persistent over the past 20 years. It’s yet more evidence that the work of our schools is being held back by the levels of poverty children are facing.
From breakfast clubs to sports activities, before- and after-school provision benefits children and their families hugely. These clubs and activities help children engage with learning and feel fulfilled at school, and they help parents financially by allowing them to work or take up more hours. Unfortunately, many families don’t get to benefit from these clubs, either because they’re too expensive or because they’re not available.
Around 35,000 more families could have their benefits capped next April, leaving them with a growing gulf between their income and rising costs, new Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) analysis shows.
New statistics released today show that 120,000 households were subject to the benefit cap in February 2022. The benefit cap limits the amount of social security some households receive, with families losing £236 a month, on average.
I have found this whole cost of living subject a difficult one for us in particular. It is topical at the moment and is a constant weight on my mind. There's no escape, everywhere I turn, it’s all around me. The TV, the news and social media. I’m tired of it and the continuous daily struggle. I feel we’ve been experiencing and have been living this for some time.