This briefing covers the following announcements: the new crisis and resilience fund, free school meals, school-based nurseries, housing and employment support/benefits.
Many children and families entered the pandemic facing poverty and structural disadvantage, and were failed – and continue to be failed - by the inadequacy of the economic measures introduced in response to the pandemic, Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) told Module 9 of the Covid-19 inquiry today.
This briefing shows how the benefit cap is contributing to homelessness, as families are trapped in refuges and other forms of temporary accommodation and are unable to move on to secure and affordable homes.
Our social security system, like our NHS, should be there for us all, especially those who need it most. It needs updating, so it works in today’s world. By the time it is fully rolled out, half of all children in the UK will live in a household claiming universal credit (UC). With some financial investment and operational changes, UC can be the safety net that families need.
A change is coming to child benefit. This Saturday, more families will become eligible as the earnings threshold at which you start losing child benefit increases. The government has finally recognised that ‘the way we treat child benefit in the tax system is confusing and unfair’ and proposed two changes to try to simplify it. It’s ironic that this confusion and unfairness was introduced by the government in the first place.
