‘Discrimination and disadvantage: Narrowing the gap.’

 Hilary Fisher

“The children and young people most likely to experience inequalities have one core thing in common: poverty. The impact of growing up in poverty is well documented: it not only affects the quality of childhood but is a key determinant of outcomes in adulthood. Any strategy to improve social mobility must address the challenge of child poverty.”

Report from the Independent Commission on Social Mobility, January 2009

Impact of Child Poverty

• Health

• Education

• Housing

• Born smaller (200g lighter than richest fifth) higher risk of infant mortality (1/2 times)

• Have bad diets, poor health, and shorter lives - 5 times more likely to die in an accident, 15 times more likely to die in a fire at home

• Adults who suffered poverty as children are 50% more likely to have life limiting illnesses

• Show a lower level of attainment by 2 years and leave school at 16 with fewer qualifications

• 1 in 10 16 -18 year olds are not in education, employment or training

• 1 million children (1 in 7) are growing up homeless or in bad housing, impacting on their health and schooling

Those at greatest risk of poverty

• Children with lone parents • Children without a parent in work• Children in large families (3 or

more children) • Children in families with one or

more disabled member• Children living in local authority

housing• Black – non Caribbean • Pakistani/ Bangladeshi children• All children  

Households Below Average Income 2006/07

• 52% • 81%

• 42%

• 38%

• 61%• 56% • 63%• 30 %

Child poverty and disability• There are approximately 770,000 disabled

children in the UK• Strong correlation between disability, low

income and social exclusion• On both income (25%) and material

deprivation (93%) measures families with disabled children have a greater risk of poverty, some live in severe poverty

• Families face two major problems:– Barriers to employment, especially adequate,

affordable childcare – Increased cost of caring for disabled child, three

times as much

Child poverty and gender

• Women and children have a significant increased risk of poverty than men

• Having a child puts women at risk of poverty• Four out of ten poor children live in households

headed by a single mother• 29% of women and 16.1% of men are in low

paid work • The household income, which measures

poverty, is not always shared equally• Three out of ten poor children live in households

where the father is in employment but the mother has low or no income

Child poverty and race

• There are more White children in poverty (78%) but a greater proportion of people from ethnic minority groups live in poverty: – 48% of Black or Black British households– 56% for Black non-Caribbean children– 63% in Pakistani and Bangladeshi children– Compared with 27% of White children

• In work rates of poverty higher:– 54% of Pakistani and Bangladeshi children– 12 % of White children

• Level of take up of benefits lower

The Progress

• 600,000 children lifted out of poverty - but since 2005 child poverty has risen by a 200,000

• Child poverty a priority of PM - set up DCSF and a cross departmental Child Poverty Unit

• Main political parties support the 2020 eradication target• 2008 budget - £1bn investment to eradicate child poverty• PBR 2008 - brought forward increase spending on tax

credits and child benefits• 2009 – introduced New Opportunities - White Paper on

social mobility which includes a proposed socio economic public duty

• 2009 – introduced consultation on legislation to enshrine child poverty target

Government propose

Socio economic duty:– Strategic, targeted at

central departments and selected key public authorities

– Ensure that identifying and addressing socioeconomic inequalities part of planning, commissioning and resourcing of services

– But will the light touch proposed be strong enough to be effective?

– How will it impact on fiscal measures?

Child Poverty duty:• Three options:

– 1: a duty on LAs to promote action to tackle child poverty

– 2: a duty on all local public bodies to have regard to child poverty when exercising functions

– 3: require local authorities to set a specific local child poverty target

• With a target of between 5 and 10%

Public attitudes to poverty“Poverty? It’s just a lie the Left uses to destroy the middle

class” Peter Hitchens' Mail on Sunday 18.01.09

“Public attitudes to benefits system have hardened substantially and support for redistribution has declined since 1997.” Poverty, inequality and policy since 1997, Joseph

Rowntree Foundation, February 2009

• Most people don’t think poverty exists, just inequality, where it is recognised it is seen as: – “an inevitable reality of modern life”– due to laziness or lack of willpower

• Without public support for increased spending eradicating child poverty will be very hard