In 2001, then-prime minister Tony Blair committed to ending child poverty by 2020. As we approach this deadline, almost one in three children live in poverty and the situation is only getting worse. The figures released yesterday show 3 million children live in poverty, even before household costs are considered, the highest this figure has been in almost two decades
Through targeted tax and benefit changes, child poverty had gradually declined since the 1990s, but these gains have been eliminated. Since 2010, over 700,000 more children are living in poverty.
The causes of this societal failure are no mystery. Rising living costs, expensive child-care, stagnating wages and a prolonged benefit freeze have driven families into deprivation and millions of children are bearing the consequences. At the heart of these economic challenges has been misguided austerity.
The benefit freeze has seen the real-term value of benefits fall every year since 2016, which has had a disproportionate impact on the incomes of some of the most vulnerable families across the country. Before the benefit freeze came into effect, IPPR analysis warned that the freeze would push more and more children into poverty. This prediction has sadly been vindicated.
In research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, parents spoke of the struggle that the benefit freeze has had on their ability to cope. One woman, a civil service manager, struggled to make ends meet following the end of an abusive relationship. Instead of being caught in a social safety net, she was instead forced to share a bed with her children to keep the cold at bay.
But it is not just the benefit freeze that has harmed the poorest. Public services have borne the brunt of government cuts over the last few years, despite increasing demand. Councils have struggled to maintain support for local children’s services. An estimated 1,000 Sure Start centres have been closed. Per pupil spending has dropped. All services that nurture and develop children.
It is simply wrong, that in the fifth richest country in the world, parents are being forced to use food banks to get nappies, teachers are having to pay for essentials from their own pocket and childcare costs are simply unaffordable for those already struggling to meet ends meet.
Yet, the case for ending child poverty is not simply a moral one. A child growing up in poverty has their life opportunities diminished before it even begins. When millions of children grow up in poverty, that seriously harms the potential and future of the whole country.
A child born in the most deprived areas of the UK can expect just over 50 years of good health. The poorest children perform consistently below their peers throughout their time in education. People from a disadvantaged background will earn less than people from a wealthier background and will be twice as likely to be out of work. Children are haunted by poverty for the rest of their life.
How do we expect to thrive as a country, when so many people will never even come close to achieving their full potential? The short-term ambitions of austerity have come at a cost of investing in the UK’s most precious resource, its children. This will reduce our economic capabilities in the future and leave the UK stranded and unprepared for emerging challenges and opportunities in an increasingly competitive global economy.
The failures of austerity need not continue. The government must take action to target and eliminate child poverty. Ending the benefit freeze would be a start, but also investing in housing, public services and education are essential if we are to mitigate the damage that child poverty is already causing our country.
On the steps of Downing Street on her first day in office, Theresa May promised to make the UK’s “burning injustices” her main priority. She was right to do this: ending child poverty is not just desirable, it is entirely achievable. But for too long May’s rhetoric has come up against her policy. Last year her government finally committed to ending austerity, a policy which has been at the heart of this contradiction. Now is the moment to deliver on this promise; anything short of this will be devastating for future generations.
Dean Hochlaf is a researcher in IPPR’s work and welfare team