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Tackling child poverty
Alison Garnham CEO, Child Poverty Action Group
Peabody Conference: Child poverty – challenges and
policy responses
10 December 2012
Stealing away children’s life chances
Education divide – poorer children 9 months behind (Hirsch D, 2007)
Health divide – socio-economic conditions mean greater risk heart disease, death by stroke, disability, poor mental health (Spencer N, 2008)
Wellbeing divide – negative impact on relationship with parents, educational orientation, low self-worth and risky behaviour (Tomlinson and Walker, 2009)
Costs £25 billion a year in public spending (JRF, 2008)
2012/13
The uprating game
Progress to date
Actual figures and projections:
BHC AHC
Baseline year 98/99: 3.4 million 4.4 million
Latest official figures 10/11: 2.3 million 3.6 million
IFS estimate for 20/21: 3.3 million 4.3 million
Gov’t target for 20/21: 1.3 million* N/A
(* 10% of children based on 2010/11 population count)
Sources: HBAI 1998/99-2010/11; Children and Working-Age poverty from 2010 to 2020, IFS 2010.
Historical Trend – since 1970
Progress made and lessons learned
Largest reductions in child poverty in OECD between mid-1990s and 2008 (Bradshaw 2012)
Child wellbeing improved on 36 out of 48 indicators between 1997 – 2010 (Bradshaw, 2012)
Deprivation levels fell as did money worries extra money led to increased spending on fruit
and vegetables, children’s clothes and books – spending on alcohol and cigarettes fell (Stewart, 2012)
Not just due to income transfers
Parents helped into work, childcare strategy and active labour market policies – worklessness fell until 2008
Lone parent employment rate 45 – 57% (1997-2010) accounts for ¼ of falls in child poverty (Brewer, 2012)
between 1997 and 2010, mothers in couples - 68 – 71%, and fathers in couples - 88.7 - 89.4%
In 2008, before the recession, the employment rate for fathers had been 91%
No. of children failing to get any qualification declined from 35,000 in 1999 to 6,000 in 2010
No. children on FSM getting at least 5 GCSEs rose from 36% to 65% closing attainment gap by one third between 2007 and 2011
Child poverty set to rise
Latest IFS projections show child poverty will rise by 800,000 between 2010 and 2020
Rise of 900,000 children on ‘absolute’ measure Also likely rises in persistent poverty and
deprivation levels After Autumn statement – will now be more
Universal Credit – poverty reducing
Will reduce child poverty by 350,000 compared to current tax and benefit regime
But overwhelmed by other tax and benefit changes, inflation and stagnating wages – child poverty still to rise
No losers at point of introduction? Simple? Makes work pay? Protects vulnerable?
Improves ‘unemployment trap’ – transition to work Still embodies the ‘poverty trap’ – high marginal tax rates,
capital rules, caps on housing costs 65% taper - not much improvement to work incentives.
Influence behavior? (original plan was 55%) IFS preliminary analysis - worse incentives to work and
progress in work for single parents and partners in couples Childcare costs reduced from 80% to 70% Can be fixed – but bad news in the Autumn statement
Policy responses
Early years – 15 hours disadvantaged 2 year olds, and 3-4s
Pupil Premium Child poverty strategy – ‘causes’ Social justice strategy – ‘troubled families’
Pupil premium
Ofsted report (Sept 2012) - real concern funds being used to "plug the gap" in school budgets
Survey of 262 schools - more than half said premium making "little or no difference" to the way they were being managed and operated
Sutton Trust survey (Aug 2012) showed 2-3% of schools using PP for interventions that had a track record of reducing the education gap
28% teachers didn’t know what PP spent on
Social justice strategy – ‘troubled families’?
Disruption? Irresponsibility? Crime? Drug and alcohol abuse? Neighbours from hell?
Evidence-based policy or policy-based evidence? 120,000 families – FACS survey data Criteria: no parent in work, poor quality housing, no
qualifications, low income, cannot afford some food/clothing items, mother mental ill-health, parent longstanding disability or illness
Social justice strategy: ‘These families…can cause serious problems for their local communities through crime and anti-social behaviour’
Workless families where generations have never worked? Can find 15,000 in data (Gregg et al, also Shildrick et al)
Why are children in London poor?
London has the highest rate of child poverty of any English region, with as many poor children as in Scotland and Wales put together.
Thirty-seven per cent (592,000) of all children in London live below the poverty line.
London Child Poverty Commission (2008):
The underlying causes of this entrenched child poverty are surprisingly simple – the employment rate among parents, in particular mothers, is much lower than elsewhere in the country, driven in part by a lack of part-time jobs and flexible childcare, as well as higher housing, childcare and living costs.
What has been happening to child poverty rates in London?
What’s been happening to parental employment rates?
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Worklessness among couple households with children 1986-2012
Inner Lon
Outer Lon
S East
What’s been happening to parental employment rates?
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Worklessness among couple households with children 1986-2012
Inner Lon
Outer Lon
S East
What’s the size of the parental employment gap in London?
Employment rates in London (%) 2011
Why are parental employment rates still low?
Cost of childcare 24 per cent higher in London. Low levels of part time jobs – key lacks are in
administrative and secretarial occupations. No London premium at lower end of Labour
market – makes part time work difficult. No dedicated cross London parental employment
scheme.
What can Local Authorities do on employment?
Lead by example: advertise all vacancies as available for part time and flexible working.
Use community benefit clauses within procurement arrangements to ensure that companies offer (flexible) jobs to local residents.
Consider developing targeted employment programmes for parents (cf Islington)
Introduce specific targets on parental employment in child poverty strategies.
Prioritise childcare – extended schools.
What else can local authorities do within child poverty strategies?
Invest in Free School Meals.
Target educational attainment gaps.
Benefit take up and advice + support with wide ranging reforms coming in in April. Prioritise families for discretionary support?
Ensure child poverty prioritised across other areas of council – e.g. Health and Wellbeing Boards.
Work with parents, children, voluntary sector to understand local family needs.
Invest in housing stock and tackle poor quality in private rented sector.
Policy responses needed
Investment in the early years (ECEC) – yes Early intervention – yes Pupil Premium – yes, if properly monitored Don’t neglect income – child poverty scandal
worsening Last time child poverty rose on this scale – so did
indicators of multiple deprivation Improve UC – a mixed bag – even in own terms Improve incentives to work and progress in work
– lower taper, improve disregards Local action needed too
What works?
Worth reminding ourselves - what benefits all families, including the ‘squeezed middle’ also benefits poor families – good quality jobs, decent pay levels (living wage), decent Child Benefit, universal childcare, family-friendly jobs, decent insurance benefits, high quality services, affordable housing, affordable transport - poverty prevention
Crisis - not inevitable – it’s what will happen if no action taken to stop it