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Pre Budget letter to the Guardian - 23rd of Mar, 2010
Monday 22nd March 2010
Pre - Budget Letter to the Guardian
This budget week, a Bill that could turn around the lives of the UK’s 4 million children living in poverty will receive Royal Assent. The Child Poverty Act enshrines in legislation the most courageous promises made by the Labour Government in 1999– to end child poverty by 2020.
A promise to halve child poverty by 2010 was made too, resulting in half a million fewer children living in poverty than a decade ago. But the Government remains woefully short of this target.
We call on Alistair Darling to use his last opportunity before the election to move closer to fulfilling the pledge his government made to halve child poverty ensuring the 2020 target remains credible. Amid the difficult choices needed to sustain the economic recovery, with limited resources at the Chancellors disposal, it is vital he does not forget the families who need his help the most. Their economic inclusion is essential to Britain’s future economic success.
Practical measures are needed to help jobless parents back into the workplace and to prevent families getting into deeper, crippling debt. Increasing state support from 80% to 100% of childcare costs could make work pay for thousands of parents on working tax credits, boosting not only their income, but increasing revenues to the Exchequer.
For families with no savings in an emergency, like a broken boiler, the Social Fund is their only hope of avoiding crippling debt. It needs more resources to cope with the growth in demand due to the recession so that families in crisis can be helped right now.
Finally, some of our membership would continue to urge the Chancellor to announce a Robin Hood Tax on international financial transactions. Not only would it deliver the sort of sums needed to significantly reduce the need for cuts to public services and tax rises, it would provide the £4bn investment needed to halve child poverty this year.
While the most vocal response to the Budget will be from the City, the most important impact will be on those whose views are too rarely sought, the hundreds of thousands of families his government promised would be taken out of poverty this year. The Chancellor must recognise the sustained benefit to the economy of providing the help they desperately need at this time to stay afloat.
Samantha Hyde, Director of End Chid Poverty
Gareth Jenkins, Save the Children UK Head of Campaigns and External Affairs
Kate Bell, Gingerbread Director of Policy, Advice and Communications
Neera Sharma, Barnardo’s Assistant Director, Policy
Sent on behalf of the above by Sam Hyde, Director of End Child Poverty
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