This week, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation produced a new report on ‘What is needed to end Child Poverty in Wales’. The report is a welcome effort to re-start the debate over child poverty, not least because Labour’s strategy for eradicating child poverty by 2020 is looking tired, bereft of ideas and defeatist.
There is no quick fix solution to ending child poverty. But the government’s efforts to date have primarily focused on pushing those easiest to help and nearest to the poverty line out of poverty through tax credits. This has been pretty much exhausted as an option and of course, it does nothing to tackle the underlying causes of intergenerational poverty or declining social mobility.
The latest government figures show that the risk of a child in Wales growing up in poverty has jumped to 32%, with around 192,000 children affected. This is the first time that child poverty has increased in Wales since the Conservatives were in power and indicates just how unsustainable the government’s child poverty ‘solutions’ are – many of those families that were technically lifted out of poverty through tax credit handouts are the first to be plunged straight back into poverty when times get tough.
The Lib Dems are leading innovation in this area by focusing on improving the life chances of the poorest children and families in society. First, our shake up of the tax system would see income tax bills for lower and middle income families cut by an average of £700 each, lifting thousands out of poverty overnight.
Second, under the pupil premium, we would attach additional educational funds to children from the most deprived backgrounds, encouraging more of the best schools to take them on and ensuring that schools are given the resources to provide the tailored support these children often need to maximise their potential.
Finally, we would offer free childcare to all toddlers over 18 months so that families are able to balance their work and family life commitments without missing out on years of employment.
Of course, these measures alone will not be enough to rid Wales of child poverty altogether. But by offering immediate financial relief for struggling families and a longer-term strategy for tackling the root causes of child poverty, they represent a fundamentally important first step.
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