Memorandum submtited by The Salvation
Army
The Salvation Army welcomes the Joint Committee
on Human Rights desire to encourage more input from civil society
into its legislative scrutiny work.
As a Christian Church and registered charity,
The Salvation Army in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland
experiences the realities of child poverty both at community level
through our churches and through our social service centres which
provide accommodation and support for those who are homeless and
in need.
The Salvation Army welcomes the introduction
of The Child Poverty Bill and the recognition it offers to enshrine
in law the Government's commitment to eradicating child poverty
by 2020.
The key goals of the Bill include:
— Enshrining in law the Government's commitment
to eradicate child poverty by 2020.
— Reducing the proportion of children who
are poor compared to the rest of society.
— Ensuring that no child experiences poverty
for long periods of time. Families can often cope with a temporary
period when their incomes fall, but research shows that long periods
of poverty have a damaging effect on a child's life chances.
— Measuring whether the poorest families
see their real incomes increase over time to ensure that no family
lives in absolute poverty.
— Improving living standards to ensure
that all families are able to afford the necessities that others
may take for granted, such as adequate housing or a space to play
or study.
— Establishing an accountability framework
to drive progress at national and local level through requiring
the Government to publish a child poverty strategy every three
years until 2020, setting out the steps it will take to end child
poverty. The Bill would also ensure that the Government is held
to account by Parliament and the public for progress made, through
an annual report.
— Creating a commission of experts in the
field of child poverty to provide advice to the Government to
inform the child poverty strategy.
While The Salvation Army supports the aims of
the Bill, we are concerned that previous targets in this area
have not been met. In the second reading of the Bill, on 20 July,
Sammy Wilson MP claimed that there are now 200,000 more UK children
in child poverty than in 2004 and, according to the Institute
for Fiscal Studies, it is likely that the UK Government's policies
will lead to the target for 2010-2011 being missed by some 600,000
children. We urge the provision of adequate financial resources
and cross-departmental support, paying long-term and serious attention
to these challenges at a local level.
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Stephen
Timms, MP, who is the Government minister in charge of the Bill
said:
"The goal is that no child's life prospects
should be limited by an upbringing in poverty ... it remains the
case that the likelihood of poverty is twice as high in one-parent
households as in two-parent households, which needs to be borne
in mind as we set about tackling the problem. Too many families
are still on the edge of coping. There should not be, but there
are, families who cannot afford to eat properly, keep their home
warm or pay for basics such as school uniform or outings, let
alone buy presents for birthday parties ..."
The Salvation Army supports the Bill's aim to
improve living standards and to ensure that all families are able
to afford the necessities that others may take for granted, such
as adequate housing or a space to play or study. Many of the families
with whom we come into contact find themselves on the edge of
coping financially, many are struggling to provide the daily necessities
of living, while others require support in managing their finances
and assistance in accessing support (both statutory and voluntary/faith
sector) which is currently available to them.
We welcome Gary Streeter MP's commendation of
the work of faith communities and charitable organisations, saying
they have a huge part to play in supporting and underpinning families
and children and encouraging the Bill to further encourage their
work.
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Yvette
Cooper has commented "The Bill must set clear targets to
cut the number of children growing up in low-income and material
deprivation". Furthermore, The Salvation Army urges the Bill
to give due consideration to the multiple causes of poverty in
both single and two parent households, households where children
have disabilities or where additional costs of caring and supporting
families are incurred.
The Salvation Army welcomes the Bill's commitment
to creating a commission of experts in the field of child poverty
to provide advice to the Government and inform the child poverty
strategy. As a charity we cannot work in isolation from statutory
and other service providers.
We urge the Joint Committee on Human Rights
to consider the Child Poverty Bill carefully in order that the
Government might to take account of all children in all circumstances
and, through the Bill, give a full commitment to eliminating child
poverty in the UK.
September 2009
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