'Stealth social security cuts bring neither stability nor security to struggling families and will push child poverty even higher. Growth and better living standards are not achieved by taking money from families with the least. Government must invest in social security support - not cut it - for the most vulnerable, or risk being remembered as the Labour administration under whose watch child poverty continued to rise.'
The package of reforms set out yesterday will result in a net reduction in social security expenditure of £5 billion by 2029/30. This is the biggest cut to disability benefits in a generation, and will push children and families into poverty, and reduce living standards for many.
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.
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.
The Prime Minister must know he can’t scare people into good health, but his words this morning will be chilling for low-income families up and down the country who rely on our social security system for help.
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.
There was very little in this Budget for children and families living in poverty. The Chancellor said yesterday that this government does not pass on its bills to the next generation, but the 4.2 million children living in poverty today are the next generation. Child poverty is scarring, and the decisions taken yesterday will leave a legacy of cold homes, empty tummies and crumbling classrooms. We are in urgent need of a plan to tackle child poverty.
