ALL political party leaders should be alarmed at the increase in child poverty according to a leading charity, after a think-tank said it would continue to rise under the Tories’ social security plans.
The Resolution Foundation’s shifting shape of social security report, published yesterday, said the party’s General Election manifesto made no changes to its existing policy.
“As a result, under Conservative plans child poverty risks reaching a 60-year high of 34%,” it said.
“The Conservative manifesto offers no changes to the status quo, meaning a Conservative government would preside over £3.8 billion of further cuts to working-age benefits set to roll out after the 2019 election.”
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The report said Labour’s manifesto promise of £9bn of extra social security spending, including the scrapping of the two-child limit, would mean 550,000 fewer children living in poverty compared to Tory plans.
However, it warned that “Labour’s proposals do not reverse the £5bn benefits freeze, and could still see more children living in poverty in 2023 than do today”.
Laura Gardiner, research director at the Resolution Foundation and the paper’s author, said: “The modern welfare state has evolved over the past 70 years, and has changed dramatically over the past decade.
“Policy choices since 2010 have reduced the generosity of support for working-age families by £34bn.
“Under the Conservatives little is set to change, and child poverty risks reaching a record high in the coming years.
“Labour and Liberal Democrat pledges to spend £9bn more would mean child poverty being over 500,000 lower than under Conservative plans.
“However, this would not do enough to see child poverty fall from today’s already high levels.”
A Tory spokesperson defended their party’s actions on tackling child poverty.
“We are committed to tackling child poverty and have made progress since we came into government, with 730,000 fewer children in workless households,” they said.
“But we know we must continue to make every effort on this issue and our manifesto sets out how we will use the tax and benefits system to do this,” they added.
However, John Dickie, director of Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland, said: “Every party leader should be alarmed by increasing child poverty and the devastating damage it does to children’s wellbeing, education, life chances and the wider economy.
“As a compassionate country the top priority for whoever forms the next UK Government must be to invest in children’s benefits and put in place a UK-wide child poverty strategy.”
Amy Woodhouse, joint acting chief executive for Children in Scotland, said: “The report earlier this year by the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights made it very clear that austerity measures and a punitive social security system are responsible for increasing levels of child poverty across the UK.
She continued: “Addressing this unacceptable situation will require concerted effort at Westminster, by whichever government is formed following the election, and should include an end to the benefits cap and removal of the two-child limit.”
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