Memorandum submitted by Children in Wales
(CP 20)
CHILDREN IN WALES—PLANT YNG NGHYMRU
SUBMISSION TO
HOUSE OF
COMMONS WORK
AND PENSIONS
SELECT COMMITTEE
INQUIRY INTO
CHILD POVERTY
IN THE
UK
Established in 1992, Children in Wales is the
national umbrella organisation in Wales, bringing together organisations
and individuals who work with and for children and young people.
One of its achievements in recent years was to campaign for the
establishment of the first Children's Commissioner in the UK.
The role of Children in Wales is to contribute to making the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child a reality in Wales;
to fight for sustainable quality services for all children and
young people; to pay special attention for children in need (especially
the most marginalized); and to promote children and young people
having a voice in issued that affect them.
The extent of child poverty and the causes of
it
1. The Government has identified its strategy
clearly in a range of documents DWP (2001), (2002), (2003) and
is clearly making positive progress on its targets. We believe
it should be congratulated for that as should the devolved administrations
that have all made it a policy priority. This strategy needs to
continue to be prioritised and well resourced.
2. Because there is a long time lag in getting
child poverty data it is not always possible to see the effect
of government policies. We therefore believe that the Government
should prioritise quicker data collection so there is not such
a delay in publishing recent data. The current approach contrasts
greatly with the speed with which other data is collected and
published such as the retail price index etc.
The impact of child poverty on children and families
and are specific groups particularly affected
3. Child poverty has important effects both
on children's childhood, Ridge (2002) and when they become adults,
Bradshaw (2003). CPAG (2003) has outlined the effects that income
poverty can have on children in schools and it is clearly an area
of policy where must could be done to improve practice. As Bradshaw
has outlined there are specific hard outcomes, eg, lower educational
achievement but also "soft" outcome such as low self-esteem
etc that have a profound effect on children and young people in
the short and long term.
4. The Government should focus its attention
more on the here and now of children's experiences when they are
experiencing poverty rather than focussing on the effects child
poverty will have on them as future employees. In Wales there
is considerable evidence of the link between bullying and child
poverty as well as low self-esteem.
5. We would like the Government to move
away from the one size fits all approach and acknowledge that
for some families work will never be an option and develop strategies
to move this significant cohort of children out of poverty by
alternative means. In a country like Wales where significant areas
are under European Objective One designation jobs are very much
at a premium in some areas such as the previous coalfield.
6. There are also specific groups where
child poverty is a significant issue such as families which contain
someone with a disability, Bangladeshi families or larger than
average families. There are also those families, which are in
severe and persistent poverty. We would argue, as these are the
families where child poverty is most entrenched that the Government
needs to develop specific strategies for these families.
The extent and causes of regional variations in
child poverty
7. Average household income is significantly
less in Wales than in other parts of the UK. This has translated
itself into higher deprivation scores on a range of domains. Whilst
we would acknowledge the Welsh Assembly Government's positive
attempts to reduce these inequalities they will continue to need
adequate resources to target and reduce these inequalities.
The effectiveness of the Government's strategies
to reduce child poverty and whether the child poverty targets
will be met is enough being done across Governments and are further
initiative needed
8. The setting of a 20-year target with
sub targets of child poverty reduction of 2004, 2010 and 2019
is important for several reasons. These will include that child
poverty has been acknowledged as a problem and it focuses all
stakeholders to develop policies, which have an impact in meeting
the targets, which have been set. Reducing child poverty is an
issue for all sectors and more needs to be done to engage all
stakeholders with the issue.
9. 51% of families in Wales who live on
income support in Wales have a social fund loan, which they are
paying back. This will mean that a families income will often
decrease substantially due to high repayment rates. As you will
be aware there has been a recent review by the House of Commons
on the Social Fund in 2002 that examined its operation in detail.
CPAG and the Family Welfare Association have outlines alternative
costed proposals based on a child's life cycle and it is an issue
which we feel the government should strongly consider. The Social
Fund is one policy where there are still links to the Poor Law
view on the undeserving poor. We do not believe that this has
a place in a welfare system for the 21st century.
10. If the Government were also to act to
licence loan sharks and reduce their exorbitant rates of interest,
it would have a dramatic positive effect on "poor" families.
It could be argued that they have no place in a modern welfare
system and alternative community based banks sould be developed
strategically across the UK. Member organisations of children
in Wales have a wealth of experience in this field.
11. Ridge (2002) has shown how schools are
a key arena for showing "poor" children how they are
different in some way from those children not in poverty. In terms
of the choices these children have to make, they are significantly
different from "non-poor" children. These differences
may include a range of "extra" activities including
shool trips, sports and after school activities. Some of these
school trips are now considered to be essential as they are linked
to educational activities. They are no longer seen as voluntary
as schools have built parts of their curriculum around them. The
issues and possible strategies are outlined in a recent CPAG (2003)
document that outlines how schools can do more to reduce the effects
of child poverty.
12. We would like all non-devolved and devolved
policies to be "child poverty" proofed so that there
is clarity about the effect they will have on children and young
people experiencing poverty. Clearly policies such as transport
and leisure can have a negative effect on children. There is now
much evidence of how by improving them they could significantly
affect the quality of life of these children. Wales has significant
rural areas where these issues are particularly significant. The
Government's commitment to floor targets DWP (2003) is one which
should help improve these services.
13. In terms of measurement, we welcome
the Government's attempts to agree a measure. Whilst the 60% median
income captures income poverty it does not capture other aspects
of poverty and social exclusion. This is especially so as the
relationship between poverty and social exclusion is one which
is constantly debated. We would therefore argue that deprivation
measures should also be included. Townesend (1997) argues that
the increase in the spread of polarisation is a factor that is
worrying and which we believe is worth measuring and developing
policies to reduce.
14. The Government's use of the minimum
wage, tax credits and up rating of child benefit have been innovative
and have had a positive effect on many families. However the failure
of the Government to extend the minimum wage to under 18s is unhelpful
in reducing child poverty rates. Whilst we understand the Government's
motivation to let 16-18 year olds stay on in education our experience
suggests that until education becomes more inclusive, many young
people have decided by their mid teens that formal education is
not for them. By not having a minimum wage for the 16-18 year
age group they are more open to exploitation.
Comparisons between child poverty within the UK
and other countries
15. Esping Anderson (2002) has outlined
how changing conditions in society will have an effect on child
poverty. He argues:
— the family structure that underpinned
post war policy is no longer dominant;
— the employment of mother/father/carer
requires new caring institutions for small children;
— widespread youth unemployment and
huge entry barriers to housing markets inhibit young people's
ability to form families;
— families are increasingly unstable
and this often goes hand in hand with poverty;
— the quality of childhood matters
ever more for subsequent life chances.
If his arguments are accepted, we would like
any policy which is developed to take account of this as we feel
it may develop Government's thinking further.
Summary
— the Government's commitment to ending
child poverty is a positive one on which it should be congratulated;
— the current work on developing new
child poverty measures is welcomed. Any new measure should include
both income and deprivation measures;
— any child poverty strategy which
is developed needs to contain both a focus on those in work but
also those where work is not an option;
— the Social Fund needs to be re-designed
so it does not increase the depth of poverty experiences for families;
— the Government should build on its
experiences of involving those with experiences of poverty in
future policy development;
— any strategy which is developed should
be supported by a media strategy so that there is a more general
understanding of what poverty is and the negative effects it has
on children's lives.
The Government policy work has obviously had
a significant positive impact on the numbers of children and young
people who live in poverty. However, as the Government targets
in energies on children who are well below the 60% median income
levels, a significant level of resources will have to be allocated.
Mike Lewis,
Policy Director
Catriona Williams,
Chief Executive
11 September 2003
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