Memorandum submitted by UNICEF
UNICEF is present in over 190 countries helping
governments to improve the lives of children by embedding the
Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in policies and
practice. UNICEF UK is the UK National Committee of UNICEF.
2009 marks the 20th anniversary of the UNCRC,
the most widely supported and ratified international human rights
convention and the only one to include civil, political, economic,
social and cultural rights. The UNCRC upholds that regardless
of context and challenging circumstances children have the right
to a voice, that they are by virtue of their status entitled to
special protection, an identity, health, education and to live
life free from burdens such as conflict and poverty.
UNICEF's Report Card 7 ranked the UK lowest
of 21 OECD countries for child wellbeing.[84]
This was partly due to the UK having one of the worst rates of
child poverty in the industrialised world. Action must therefore
be taken on this issue in order to meet the rights of children
in the UK. Furthermore, UNICEF Report Card 8, which focused on
the crucial early years of a child's life, included a benchmark
measurement of child poverty, at a rate of less than 10%. In failing
to meet this measure of "minimum standards for protecting
the rights of children in their most vulnerable and formative
years",[85]
the UK trailed behind other European nations.
UNICEF UK agrees that the Child Poverty Bill
presents a vital opportunity to enhance human rights, and specifically
child rights, in the UK. These are rights to health, education,
protection and development as an individual. Poverty is a barrier
to the realisation of these rights.
However UNICEF UK believes that in its current
form the Bill does not go far enough; firstly in terms of setting
ambitious targets which will ensure that every UK child can access
their rights and live free from the burden of poverty; and secondly,
in failing to explicitly acknowledge the duty of the UK Government
under Article 4 of the UNCRC to commit the "maximum extent
of their available resources" to reduce income inequality
and eradicate child poverty.[86]
Additionally, as this Bill deals mainly with
targets, it is vital that the strategy reaches out to the most
vulnerable and excluded children.
Having ratified the UNCRC the UK Government
committed itself to protecting and ensuring children's rights
by all means available to them. This means ensuring and facilitating
the development of children to meet their full potential.[87]
The Bill presents an opportunity to set a framework for delivering
this entitlement, and ensuring that child rights realisation in
the UK is not conditional on familial financial status or macro
economic circumstance. In October 2008 the UN Committee on the
Rights of the Child expressed concern about the high level of
UK child poverty and manifest economic inequality, which have
serious implications for children's life chances and negatively
impact society and the economy. The Committee's analysis was that
the Government could be doing more, through targeted financial
investment, to further the rights of children in the UK; the Child
Poverty Bill should therefore make explicit reference to this
duty, and the Government should be scrutinised accordingly.
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
Definition of the term "Eradicate"
Clause 2 of the Bill addresses reducing the
proportion of children living in relative low income poverty and
defines "eradication" as no more than 10% of children
in poverty at one time. UNICEF UK is concerned that this will
mean one in 10 children will remain in poverty, disadvantaged
by inequality. By ratifying the UNCRC the Government has a duty
to every child. The Government has previously asserted that they
are committed to making the UK "the best place in the world
for children to grow up"; yet they must acknowledge that
this goal will not be realised until the UK is a trailblazer in
setting high standards for eradicating poverty. A poverty rate
of no more than 5%[88]
on this measure would be needed for the UK to be in line with
the best in Europe.[89]
UNICEF UK therefore calls for the definition of successful eradication
to be set at no more than 5% of children living in relative low
income poverty.
Definition of "Child"
Article 1 of the UNCRC states that: "a
child means every human being below the age of 18".[90]
UNICEF UK is therefore concerned that Clause 25 of the Bill defines
"child" (for the purpose of the Bill) as persons under
the age of 16 or qualifying for child benefit. UNICEF UK calls
for an amendment to the Bill to ensure that the definition of
"child" is, in accordance with the UNCRC, extended to
include all persons under the age of 18.
Child Poverty Commission
UNICEF welcomes the plans to establish a Child
Poverty Commission and the profile and opportunity for scrutiny
it will bring to this issue. UNICEF UK stresses that for this
Commission to be most effective it should be independent, and
the membership should include those with direct experience of
living in poverty.
Measuring impact
Given that every child is entitled to the same
rights regardless of circumstance, UNICEF UK calls for the Bill
and strategy to measure the impact of investment, policy and service
provision on all children including those in vulnerable and challenging
circumstancesfor example those who may not be covered by
data surveys on household income.
Consultation
In the consultation response to Ending Child
Poverty: Making it Happen UNICEF UK asked that:
"the voices of children and young people
be heard at local, devolved and national levels, as part of the
reporting process on delivery of the 2020 vision. This will provide
insight on the impact of policies on subjective perceptions of
well-being".[91]
UNICEF UK therefore welcomes the Bill clauses
that, in line with Article 12 of the UNCRC, place a duty on developing
national and local strategies to consult with children when developing
a child poverty eradication strategy.
The child in a family context
Article 27 of the UNCRC places a duty on parents
or guardians of children as having "primary responsibility
to secure within their abilities and financial capacities, the
conditions of living necessary for the child's development".
In accordance with Article 42 of the UNCRC the Government should
make this responsibility known to adults. This should be done
whilst raising the level of public knowledge about child poverty
in the UK and should be presented in such a way as to encourage
and support parents to access services as entitlements, rather
than stigmatise poor families. It is important to note that the
mentioned clause of Article 27 is qualified in terms of the financial
contribution that parents or guardians can make, not in terms
of the level of support to which every child is entitled. When
parents are unable to provide for their child, the child should
not suffer as a resultit is essential that the State steps
up to this responsibility, to listen to parents and carers, and
to work alongside them to deliver positive outcomes for the child.
Article 27 goes on to say that States Parties
should "take appropriate measures to assist parents and others
responsible for the child to implement this right", "to
a standard of living adequate for the child's physical, mental,
spiritual, moral and social development ... and shall in case
of need provide material assistance and support programmes, particularly
with regard to nutrition, clothing and housing." This clearly
mandates the Government to prioritise investment in children through
financial support paid to parents, but also encourages spending
in a more holistic way that is targeted to directly take into
account the needs of the individual child. This allows for nationally
and locally sensitive/responsive budgetary innovation which could
include interventions such as free school meals or school uniform
grants, as well as support with meeting housing, heating, caring
and facilities costs. Article 27 should also be taken into account,
alongside Article 4, when evaluating the impact of interventions;
this should include subjective well-being reports from children
living in poverty, but also take into account the views of carers
and parents on the extent to which they feel they are supported
and able to deliver their obligations under Article 27.
Economic and Fiscal Circumstances
In our response to the Consultation on the Child
Poverty legislation UNICEF UK stressed the importance of investment
even in difficult economic times, particularly in light of the
fact that child poverty costs the exchequer £25 billion a
year.[92]
UNICEF UK would like the Bill to reflect this.
The negative impact of income inequality affects
society as a whole and the UN has called on Governments to "ensure
to the greatest possible extent, that expenditures that benefit
children are protected and prioritised during both short-term
and long-term economic and financial crises".[93]
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
recently recommended to the UK Government that: "the State
party, in accordance with Article 4 of the Convention, allocate
the maximum extent of available resources for the implementation
of children's rights, with a special focus on eradicating poverty
and that it reduce inequalities across all jurisdictions ... Child
rights impact assessments should be regularly conducted to evaluate
how the allocation of budget is proportionate to the realization
of policy developments and the implementation of legislation."[94]
Given that the UK is one of the world's richest
nations the Bill must be clear that a challenging economic climate
is not an adequate reason for failing to commit adequate financial
investment in children; or to renege on previous pledges. When
the economic climate is at its most challenging the poorest are
hit the hardestit is therefore essential that the Government
acts quickly to protect the rights of UK children and prevent
them from suffering lifelong disadvantage as a result of a childhood
burdened by poverty.
84 UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, Florence, 2007. Back
85
UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, Florence, 2008. Back
86
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Back
87
UNCRC Articles 6, 29. Back
88
?????? Back
89
The Child Poverty rate is below 5% in Denmark, Finland, Norway
and Sweden-OECD Family Database, 2008. Back
90
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Back
91
UNICEF consultation response to Ending Child Poverty: Making it
Happen, 2009. Back
92
Joseph Rowntree Foundation 2008. Back
93
United Nations Report of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Whole of
the twenty-seventh special session on the Geneva Assembly in 2002. Back
94
Paragraph 19, The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding
Observations and Recommendations to the UK Government, October
2008. Back
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