Nadia on... child poverty

It was recently revealed that 64% of children are living in poverty in the Hyson Green and Arboretum ward of Nottingham, which falls inside my constituency. That’s the highest proportion in our county, the worst area across the East Midlands and twice as high as the national average. In the Dales ward, 49% of children are living in poverty, while in St Ann’s the figure stands at 45%. These figures are deeply shocking, but they weren’t inevitable. Tory austerity has led us here.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, I raised child poverty levels in Hyson Green and Arboretum and asked the Prime Minister to confirm that his government will do everything possible to eliminate child poverty in this Parliament. The last Labour government reduced child poverty by over a million, through targeted investment and welfare reform, but this progress has been undone thanks to growing inequality. If Labour doesn’t commit substantial funding to tackle child poverty once again, the consequences will be dire, and we will condemn an entire generation to a cycle of inequality and deprivation.

Low household incomes, insecure work, low pay, and high housing and childcare costs are the main drivers of child poverty. But some children face disproportionate rates of poverty. Those growing up in lone-parent families, with young parents, or in larger households are far more likely to face hardship. Structural inequalities compound the problem. Children in families with a disabled person, or from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic backgrounds, are disproportionately represented in poverty statistics. 

One big misconception about child poverty is that it occurs within households where the caregivers are unemployed. However, seven out of ten children living in poverty have at least one parent in paid work. The Child Poverty Action Group estimates that since the Tories took power in 2010, around £50 billion has been taken from the annual social security budget through policies such as benefit freezes, the two-child limit, the 'bedroom tax' and the benefit cap. Cuts in housing benefit also mean that many families have had to make up a shortfall in rent. Combined with rising living costs and stagnant wages, these cuts have left low-income households increasingly exposed, with far fewer protections.

The impact of child poverty is profound. Not only are children growing up in poverty going without basic necessities, but they are also more likely to develop long-term health issues. In addition, research shows that 78% of children in low-income families missed out on days out with friends, while 72% hadn’t been on a family holiday. Poverty affects children’s futures too as it impacts their academic attainment, with those from the lowest-income families far less likely to do well in school or to attend the most selective higher education institutions. It is shameful that the potential of so many children is stifled through no fault of their own or their parents, but failures and choices of the state.

Eliminating child poverty is not only a moral necessity, but an economic one for the government too. Health issues caused by poverty – both physical and mental – cost the UK’s healthcare system around £29 billion a year. For example, children living in cold homes are more than twice as likely to suffer from a range of respiratory problems as those living in warm homes. Therefore, the argument that short-term welfare cuts help balance the books simply doesn’t hold up; it costs the government in the long term and, worst of all, makes people sick.

So what can be done? First and foremost, the government must reverse the benefits cuts imposed by the Tories, starting with the two-child benefit cap, which is the quickest and most cost-effective way of reducing child poverty. But secondly, we must increase public sector pay and further increase the minimum wage so that people do not have to rely on in-work benefits to meet the basic cost of living. As it stands, low wages are being subsidised by the state through top-up benefits like Universal Credit, effectively allowing employers to underpay staff, while the taxpayer makes up the difference. 

I’m pleased that this government is improving workers’ conditions by strengthening job security and workplace equality through the Employment Rights Bill. Increases in the National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage have also delivered a pay rise for three and a half million low-paid workers this year. Furthermore, the recent extension of free school meals to over half a million more children in England, which is intended to lift 100,000 children out of poverty, is a step in the right direction for free school meals for all.

However, the government must urgently go much further, starting with taxing extreme wealth and instead prioritising long-term investment in our welfare system, to address deepening inequality. Short-term cost-cutting measures, such as proposed reductions to disability benefits, will only drive more families into hardship. This is particularly concerning given that around 870,000 children live in households where a parent or carer receives Personal Independence Payment (PIP). We must ensure that those with the broadest shoulders contribute more, so that no child is condemned to poverty while wealth at the very top continues to skyrocket.

Sustained investment in universal childcare, genuinely affordable housing, and properly resourced councils and local services is essential. These are the foundations for a decent start in life. I hope all of these priorities will be central to this government’s forthcoming child poverty strategy.

Eradicating child poverty is a moral obligation and a test of this government’s commitment to fairness. This Labour government must seize the opportunity to build a legacy that ensures no child is ever left behind.

nadiawhittome.org