Commenting on the publication today of the UK Government’s Tackling Child Poverty strategy, Chair of the Poverty and Inequality Commission Professor Stephen Sinclair said:
“We welcome the intention of the UK Government to tackle child poverty and its acknowledgment of the strong moral and economic case for doing so. Lifting the two-child limit at the budget was the right thing to do, and undoubtedly a step in the right direction.
“There are measures announced in the strategy that will help families, including Universal Credit childcare costs support being made available for all children instead of being limited to just two.
“However, we are disappointed that there has been no change on the benefits cap or five-week wait for Universal Credit, policies that directly push children into poverty. We have also previously called for the UK Government to take further action to support children and families with No Recourse to Public Funds, including asylum seekers, who are at very high risk of the deepest poverty. Today’s strategy did not do enough for them.
“As the Commission has said on many occasions, we need to see more evidence of the UK and Scottish governments working with each other to reduce child poverty. We hope the months to come see more collaboration on this shared aim.”