Bank rescue puts child poverty targets in jeopardy
By politics.co.uk staff
The government is putting child poverty targets in jeopardy by focusing its economic rescue package on banks and not families, it has been claimed.
Billion of taxpayers’ money has been spent on propping up struggling British banks, with targets to halve the number of children in poverty by 2010 in danger of “[falling] by the wayside”.
An influential parliamentary report complained on Wednesday that the government’s Pre-Budget Report (PBR) had not advanced the child poverty agenda.
Kate Green, the chief executive of Child Poverty Action Group, said that while banks were being bailed out with billions of pounds, “most financial crisis meetings are not in the boardroom but around the kitchen tables of struggling families”.
“There is an urgent need for fiscal stimulus targeted to poor families in the [next] Budget,” she said.
“The chancellor can both keep the promise to halve child poverty, and put money directly into the hands of struggling families who will spend on essentials and boost their local economy.”
John McFall, the chairman of the Treasury committee, which released today’s report, agreed.
“We are disappointed at the lack of progress on the child poverty front in this year’s PBR,” he said.
“The government must take decisive action in the 2009 Budget if we are to have any hope of achieving the 2010 child poverty target.”
Ms Green suggests that the government copies the American model adopted by Barack Obama of basing a financial stimulus around putting money in the hands of the poor.
On Wednesday the government is expected to unveil steps to make the child poverty targets legally binding.
The Liberal Democrats said the fact that 3.9 million children were living in poverty in the fifth richest country in the world was “inexcusable”.
“The tax system in Britain is grossly unfair and Labour ministers have failed to change it so that it helps struggling families,” said the party’s work and pensions spokesman Steve Webb.
“We need big, permanent and fair tax cuts and increased access to free child care to help hard pressed families.
“Labour is failing on child poverty and a new law will not change that.”
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