06/03/2024

For immediate release

End Child Poverty Coalition and young people respond to Spring budget

The Chancellor today outlined his Spring Budget, but failed to provide any real relief for the 4.2 million children living in poverty across the UK.

Joseph Howes, Chair of the End Child Poverty Coalition said:

“Whilst we heard much jeering and name calling between parties during the Spring Budget announcement today – little was said about the 4.2 million children that are living in poverty across the UK. Whilst we welcome funding for the Household Support Fund, a six-month sticking-plaster extension will be of little benefit for the poorest families who have relied so heavily on this.

“Jeremy Hunt mentioned his own three children during the announcement today. There will be many families across the UK, also with three children, for whom this budget has done very little. These are families who are subject to the two-child limit to benefit payments. This is a cruel policy that limits child related benefit payments to the first two children only. Scrapping this policy would be easy at a cost of just £1.3 billion, and would lift 250,000 children out of poverty.

“This must change, children living in poverty must move to the top of the political agenda.”

 

Young people who work alongside the End Child Poverty Coalition – and have personal experience of living in poverty also respond to the Spring Budget.

Liv aged 19 said;

“Although it is a small relief to see the household support fund extended for six months – it certainly feels like a short-term solution for a long-term issue. Child poverty isn’t going to go away overnight, and it is very easy for young people to look at today’s budget and feel as though they don’t have crumb of hope that things are going to get better for us. Free school meals for all put on the back burner again, and no pay increases for young people, amongst a plethora of other neglected policies which could have really started to address the deep inequalities within our society.”

 

Lottie aged 20 said;

“Being on universal credit and under 25 is really hard. I am in survival mode. Extending the budgeting loan will help to an extent but as a whole it does not help as much as scrapping the under 25 rule would! You get less money on Universal Credit if you are under 25, than those who are over 25. You I have the same bills as everyone else so why do I deserve any less?”

Iz aged 19 said;

“The government’s budget has acknowledged some issues which are related to child poverty,  such as increasing the length of repayment time for loans. But these are not significant issues, and don’t address the causes of child poverty.

“The government must consider lower income families and children in poverty and develop more long-term solutions in reducing the effects of this.

“I come from a low-income background and have faced many disadvantages, but policies such as providing free school meals have really helped me and my family. There was no mention today of free school meals, or other long term policies that would help children living in poverty.”

 

/Ends.

Notes to editors

The End Child Poverty coalition (www.endchildpoverty.org.uk) is made up of around 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, Buttle UK, Gingerbread, Oxfam GB, Action for Children, TUC, Save the Children, and the National Children’s Bureau.

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