End Child Poverty welcomes Tax Credits U-turn, but children in poverty must still be counted

The End Child Poverty Coalition today welcomed the Chancellor’s announcement not to introduce cuts to in-work tax credits. We know that tax credits are an essential part of family income, not least for the 2.4 million children in poverty in working households.

Sam Royston, Chair of End Child Poverty, said “Millions of working families up and down the country will breathe a massive sigh of relief because of the Chancellor’s decision not to cut in-work tax credits. End Child Poverty members work with hundreds of thousands of families across the country, and know just how crucial this support is to making sure that parents don’t have to choose between putting food on the table or buying their child a decent winter coat.

However, the measures outlined in the Autumn Statement are far from the ‘all out assault on poverty’ promised by David Cameron in his Party Conference Speech – measures such as the benefits freeze are still increasing financial pressure on families and are likely to lead to increases in child poverty. We call on the Government to make sure they continue to measure and report on the number and proportion of children living in poverty – otherwise the 3.7 million children in this group risk being ignored by the Government.”

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Notes to editors

According to Households Below Average Income figures, there were 3.7 million children living in poverty in the UK in 2013-14. That’s 28 per cent of children. 63% of those children living in poverty are in working households.

The Campaign to End Child Poverty (www.endchildpoverty.org.uk) is made up of more than 100 organisations from civic society including children’s charities, child welfare organisations, social justice groups, faith groups, trade unions and others, united in our vision of a UK free of child poverty. These include Child Poverty Action Group, The Children’s Society, Family Action, Barnardo’s, Gingerbread, Oxfam, Action for Children, TUC, Family and Childcare Trust, Save the Children, and the National Children’s Bureau. End Child Poverty campaigns to achieve our vision by: Ensuring the voices of families facing economic disadvantage are heard; Increasing understanding of the causes and impacts of child poverty and mobilising public support and action; Promoting to politicians and government the case for ending child poverty by 2020, the actions that will achieve it and holding them to account on the requirements of the Child Poverty Act.

End Child Poverty is campaigning to keep the duty to report on income-related child poverty measures because of the overwhelming evidence that income is a key driver of child outcomes. The coalition is calling on the public to join our campaign and write to a Peer via the website at http://moneymatters.endchildpoverty.org.uk

You can get in touch with the coalition by emailing kate@endchildpoverty.org.uk or on 07918 567577.