In response to today’s Budget Report, national charity 4Children gave a mixed response to measures proposed by the Chancellor to improve the lives of children and families across the country.

Anne Longfield OBE, Chief Executive of 4Children, said: “Certain measures within this Budget will go some way towards helping families, but far more needs to be done to support the most disadvantaged families who suffer most during tough economic times. We want the Chancellor to follow Obama’s lead to prioritise help for vulnerable families in the UK and would have preferred a £20 per month rather than per year increase in the child element of the child tax credit.

“Investing in children is the best way to tackle many of the country’s most challenging and expensive problems. Enormous long-term savings can be gained by lifting children out of the poverty trap - from reduced spending on health and benefits to corrective services for many vulnerable children later in life. This Budget falls short in terms of both financial investment and specific measures to deliver the crucial 2010 target of halving the number of children living in poverty.”

Measures to support children and families announced in the 2009 Budget include:

• Young people to be protected from unemployment: From January everyone under 25 out of work for a year will be offered a job / training
• Helping people to gain skills: Over £260m in new money for training and subsidies for young people
• Child trust funds for disabled children to rise by £100 a year, £200 a year for severely disabled children
• New funds for extra 54,000 sixth form and further education places next year
• Increase in the child element of child tax credit to increase by £20 from April 2010

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Notes to editors

For further information contact Julie Watkins on 0207 522 6928 / 07917870641 / julie.watkins@4Children.org.uk

4Children
4Children is the national charity dedicated to creating opportunities and building futures for all children. It aspires to ensure that all children, young people and families have access to a creative, safe and child focused environment, and activities. 4Children provides an information line for parents and childcare professionals with advice and support on all aspects of childcare, including details of out of school clubs in your area.

Campaign to End Child Poverty
4Children is one of over 150 member organisations of the Campaign to End Child Poverty, campaigning for public and political commitment to ensure the goals of halving child poverty by 2010 and ending child poverty by 2020 are met.

Child poverty in the UK

• One in three (3.9 million) children in the UK live in poverty.
• The UK has one of the worst rates of child poverty in the industrialised world
• In 1999, the Government made a promise to halve child poverty by 2010 and eradicate it by 2020. It’s vital that the Government keep their promise and hit this target.
• Not fixing child poverty is expensive. Recent JRF research reveals economic costs of educational failure, health inequality, disability and social breakdown from child poverty of over £25bn a year - or £1,000 for every UK household.

What progress has been made on ending child poverty?
Child poverty significantly increased between 1979 and 1997. Since 1999 the Government has succeeded in lifting 600,000 children out of poverty, no mean feat. However, in the last couple of years the number of children living in poverty has slightly increased. There are still twice as many children in poverty in the UK today as there were in 1979.

How can child poverty be ended?
In order to eradicate child poverty by 2020, action needs to be taken across a number of areas.

• The Government will need to ensure that work pays by increasing the minimum wage, and in-work benefits and tax credits;
• Ensure there is decent, affordable childcare and provide high-quality early years provision for every child from a low-income background;
• Make sure that parents are not trapped in poor quality jobs by investing in support for disadvantaged people to get, retain and progress in employment;
• Close the gap between funding for public and private schools;
• Ensure education works for all children by rolling out personalised learning agendas in schools to guarantee increased support, particularly for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

How is child poverty measured?
People are considered to be in poverty if they are living on incomes below ‘the poverty line’. This line is based on a government measure used across the European Union to enable comparison with other countries. The poverty line is measured as those who are living on incomes below 60% of the median national income. It is adjusted for different family need, so the actual poverty line varies.

Earlier this month, the Obama administration made $2.3 billion available for crucial health and human services programs that help to provide care for children and prevent disease. It announced that States would receive $2 billion in Recovery Act funding to support child care for working families. The Administration also plans to make $300 million in vaccines and grants available to ensure more underserved Americans receive the vaccines they need. The new funds supplement the existing $5 billion child care subsidy program, the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF).

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