On 11 July 2024 the NSPCC released ‘A post-election poll by the Children’s Charities Coalition [which] shows 78% of people would support the Government introducing a new parliamentary bill to eradicate child poverty’.
The NSPCC wrote on their website:
“There are currently 4.3 million children living in poverty, which relates to a range of issues that young people face including mental health and wellbeing, education, and physical health. Families from the poorest neighbourhoods are 14 times more likely to be referred to children’s social care than those from the richest areas.
The Children’s Charities Coalition – Action for Children, Barnardo’s, The Children’s Society, National Children’s Bureau and the NSPCC – commissioned a post-election YouGov survey of over 2,000 adults, which revealed that 78% would support the introduction of an End Child Poverty Bill.
This follows new figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions today which show there were 1.6 million children living in households affected by the two-child limit on benefits policy as of April this year.
The poll also showed that over 62% of those surveyed believe that more should be done to address the needs of babies, children and young people. When asked about issues impacting children:
- 81% of the public said they would support new policies that provide more early intervention services for children’s social care
- 82% of the public said they would support new policies that provide greater funding and services for children in care
- 69% of the public said they would support the creation of a Cabinet Committee specifically focused on the needs of children.
The coalition believes the issues of child poverty are complex and cannot be tackled by individual Government departments in isolation. Instead, we need a cross-government mission, led by the Prime Minister, that tackles the issues facing babies, children and young people, and focuses on the needs of children and champions their education, health and well-being outcomes. This is vital for ensuring all children have access to opportunities and can grow up safer, healthier and happier.
The new Labour Government has already committed to a child poverty strategy and has faced increasing pressure to remove the two-child welfare benefit cap. Now, the new Government’s first 100 days provides an opportunity for the Prime Minister to listen to the public and start to eradicate child poverty by setting out a new direction in the King’s Speech on Wednesday 17 July.
Alongside the cross-government strategy Labour committed to in their election manifesto, the Children’s Charities Coalition wants to see the new Government bring forward a comprehensive Child Poverty Bill.
This must include a series of targets designed to eradicate child poverty over time, with clear milestones starting immediately and with others every two to three years, enshrined in legislation. One of the early milestones must be the removal of the two-child limit on benefit payments.
On 11 July a petition was delivered to the Prime Minister by five you campaigners on behalf of the Children’s Charities Coalition.
The petition asked Government to:
- Work together across Government to improve the lives of babies, children and young people.
- Put babies, children and young people’s needs and voices at the heart of decision making.
- Spend more of the nation’s wealth on babies, children and young people…”
The Children’s Charities Coalition said:
“While [the Prime Minister] has pledged to implement a new child poverty strategy, he and his Government must go one step further and commit to bringing forward legislation that will address child poverty at the earliest opportunity.
This would be a powerful indicator that his Government is serious about delivering on their promise to “give children their future back” and demonstrate that the Prime Minister is listening to the public when they tell him that they want new legislation to eradicate child poverty once and for all.”
Original reporting by Family Law Week