Young Person’s Opinion on the Spending Review

Today (11/06/25) the Chancellor presented her Spending Review. But what impact will this have for families who are living in poverty? Liv, a Youth Ambassador who has grown up in a low income family explains how she feels about today’s announcement, she says;

“Like many others, I’m profoundly disappointed by the Chancellor’s Spending Review today. While the extension of free school meals to children in families receiving Universal Credit is a welcome step, it falls well short of meeting the eight essential tests for addressing child poverty. This step simply doesn’t provide the scale of support needed to level the playing field or lift more children out of poverty.

I find it incredibly difficult to see children once again being overlooked, the messaging which shaped my childhood, that kids growing up in child poverty are not the priority, still rings loud and clear today. This neglect reinforces the damaging labels poverty imposes, eroding confidence, self-worth, and aspirations. It’s hard to feel any glimmer of hope that things will get better when the urgency of ending child poverty still doesn’t seem to register with those in power.

The scale of child poverty in this county is nothing short of harrowing. Children cannot, and should not, be made to wait. Time and again, we’ve seen this crisis side-lined. The wellbeing and dignity of children must never be compromised for the sake of political convenience or better optics.

Children deserve so much more than what this country is currently offering, the removal of the two child limit and benefit is just the beginning of addressing deep injustices within this county, and yet, we’re not even there yet. We need bold and ambitious policy which goes far beyond just the bare minimum.”