Half a million more children to live in poverty in 3 years
Spurgeons, the national children’s charity, has reacted with disappointment and frustration to the news that, according to the latest research, up to half a million additional children will be living in poverty within the next 3 years. Spurgeons works with hundreds of vulnerable families already living in poverty throughout the country and fears for their future and the futures of other families that are bearing the brunt of the harsh economic conditions.
Tim Jeffery, CEO of Spurgeons says: ‘Everyday in disadvantaged communities across the country we are seeing the human cost of reducing vital government services and support for families. We are seeing more domestic violence and family break up as unemployment and money worries take their toll. We’ve known first hand that the situation is getting tougher and these figures provide some indication of the increasing hardship families are experiencing and the trajectory we are currently on.
What does it say about us as a society that we move heaven and earth to bail out the banks but put in place a raft of changes and cuts whose net impact is so disastrous for our most vulnerable: children? The choices our government makes now about how to address the financial crisis say so much about what we value. This research indicates that half a million more children will be living in poverty at the end of this parliament than at its beginning – that is a damning legacy which the coalition should urgently address.
On the one hand we hear about a new initiative to target the 120,000 ‘most difficult’ families but on the other is a raft of changes that will entrench and expand the disadvantage and inequality in our society.
We urge the Government to take this research seriously and to engage with organisations, like Spurgeons, to ensure that the relative disadvantage of families with young children is reversed and government policy does not make it increasingly difficult for parents to do the best for their children. Nothing short of the future health and nature of our society is at stake and, with brave leadership and our values in the right place, it is not too late to do something about.’