Child Poverty Act historic, now let’s see some action

The Child Poverty Act is now law, a historic milestone in the fight against child poverty. This places a legal obligation on all future governments to act to end child poverty in the UK by 2020. We’re really pleased that we now have the Child Poverty Act. But, after yesterday’s disappointing Budget, it’s clear that the Act alone is not enough.

When we ran our crisis grants last year it really highlighted how a small amount of money can make a big difference for a family living in poverty. The top request was to help to buy a school uniform, followed by children’s clothes and children’s beds. These aren’t what many people would consider luxury items but living in severe poverty means living on less than £12,220 a year (for a couple with one child). This amount leaves families around £113 a week short of what they need to cover food, bills, clothes, washing, transport and healthcare, not to mention activities for children and other essential items. It really illustrates how tough it is for some families in the UK.

So what’s the answer?

We need to fight inequality and make sure that more action is taken to help children in poverty. We want the next government to remove barriers to employment for parents living in poverty, ensure they do not pay a ‘poverty premium’ for basic goods and services, make the tax and benefits system work better for the poorest families and make sure they are not the ones to pay the price for the economic crisis.

Poverty kills childhood. Take action now