Helping Cornwall's poorest children

There are 4 Million children living in poverty in the UK today, including 1 in 4 of the children living in Cornwall. These figures are based on the number of children living in low income households.

The Child Poverty Bill - which is completing its journey through the House of Lords - will introduce a legally binding commitment to end child poverty by 2020. Amidst the major concerns about child protection and other issues in Cornwall, it is worth remembering that Cornwall Council has been awarded Beacon status for it's work in tackling child poverty.

Ending child poverty by 2020 will require well-considered, co-ordinated action by Government - to redress low incomes in families with children, to address fuel poverty (and in Cornwall, unaffordable water bills), and to ensure that statutory agencies and local government work together to address multiple deprivation which reduces children's opportunities. The minimum wage, tax credits, child benefit increases, Sure Start, and the extension of free school meals to more children are all steps in the right direction.

To end child poverty there needs to be well-considered action by local government too. Cornwall may be a Beacon authority for tackling child poverty, but the Council's less effective action in addressing unmet housing need, homelessness, non-decent homes, delayed housing benefit payments, poor rural transport, and limited access to services blight the lives of children too.

In this constituency, the new network of eleven children's centres in Falmouth, Penryn, Truro, and Perranporth - adjacent to primary schools or located in community centres - are home to better co-ordinated services for children, and provide conveniently located after school and play activities. All of these were built with Labour investment.

Locally, the new Cornwall Council is generating concern through rumours that it intends to close one in three primary schools, and by it's actions in relation to the Trevu children's centre; as well as because it is now subject to government intervention to sort out it's child protection arrangements.

Nationally, the last Tory governments up to 1997 allowed child poverty to double - I remember that one of their first actions after being elected in 1979 was to cancel any government action in response to the 'Black report', which had shown that poverty causes ill-health.

Here are some reactions from independent policy watchers to the emerging, current pre-election debate on ending child poverty:

‘We welcome the fact that Conservatives are taking seriously the scandal of four million children in poverty in the fourth richest country in the world. But their proposals miss the point that without real income redistribution to close the inequality gap we will never reach that goal.’ - Kate Green, chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group

'No credible commitment to end child poverty can ignore income levels. Social activism and entrepreneurship are important but no substitute for direct government intervention, such as tax credits, which raise family incomes.’ - Claire McCarthy, director of public affairs at 4Children.

‘Ending child poverty is proving one of the hardest challenges for Labour to tackle and more money is needed to target benefits and tax credits at the poorest children. It needs an active state which provides tailored support for families (for example through Sure Start, another key service which would be at risk under the Tories), rather than one which leaves them to the perils of the market. I don't believe Cameron can deliver on this pledge when he is committed to cutting taxes for millionaires. And his judgemental and spiteful tax breaks for married couples will not only damage gender equality, but will come at the expense of poor children in single parent families.’ - Kate Groucutt, chair of Young Fabians.
 
For my family, Labour's welfare state ended poverty in a single generation. A 'big society' without the backing of government resources would never have done that. It happened because of Labour's commitment in government to real change and social justice.