The Prime Minister has today appointed the Work & Pensions
Secretary and the Education Secretary as the joint leads of a new
ministerial taskforce to begin work on the Child Poverty
Strategy.
A new Child Poverty Unit in the Cabinet Office - bringing
together expert officials from across government as well as
external experts - will report into the taskforce. The new unit
will explore how we can use all the available levers we have
across government to create an ambitious strategy.
Recognising the wide-ranging causes of child poverty, Secretaries
of State from across government will take part in this work, with
the first meeting set to take place in the coming weeks.
In the immediate term, the Taskforce is expected to consider how
we can use levers related to household income as well as
employment, housing, children's health, childcare and education
to improve children's experiences and chances at life.
Prime Minister said:
“For too long children have been left behind, and no decisive
action has been taken to address the root causes of poverty. This
is completely unacceptable - no child should be left hungry, cold
or have their future held back.
“That's why we're prioritising work an ambitious child
poverty strategy and my ministers will leave no stone unturned to
give every child the very best start at
life.”
To get this urgent work underway, the Work and Pensions Secretary
has met with leading organisations this morning including Save
the Children, Action for Children, Barnados, TUC, End Child
Poverty Coalition, Resolution Foundation and UNICEF to invite
their views on how they can shape the strategy.
Work & Pensions Secretary said:
“Too many children are growing up in poverty, blighting their
lives now and damaging their future
prospects.
“Developing an ambitious strategy to tackle the problem is
vital and urgent work which starts today.
“We will turn the tide on rising poverty levels, so that
every child no matter where they come from has the best start in
life.”
Education Secretary said:
"Tackling child poverty is at the heart of breaking down
barriers to opportunity and improving the life chances for every
child.
“For too many children, living in poverty leaves them not
ready to learn and robbed of opportunity. But child poverty
reaches far beyond the school gates and alongside the Work and
Pensions Secretary, I am determined to drive the work forward to
support families and communities.
“This is a shared mission across government and our Taskforce
will work closely with parents, charities and civil organisations
as part our ambitious strategy to remove the stain of child
poverty from our country.”
Child poverty has gone up by 700,000 since 2010 with over four
million children now growing up in a low-income family. This not
only harms children's lives now it damages their future prospects
and holds back our economic potential as a country.
That's why we're committed to delivering an ambitious strategy to
reduce child poverty, tackle the root causes, and give every
child the best start at life.
Government ministers will continue to engage with leading
organisations, charities, and campaigners in the coming weeks as
we begin work to develop the strategy.
NOTES TO EDITORS
- A Terms of Reference for the Taskforce will be published
ahead of the first meeting in the coming weeks.
