Commenting on today’s Pre Budget Report Child Poverty Action Group welcomed the Government’s announcements on free school meals and making work pay but said more must be done to meet the 2010 child poverty target. John Dickie of Child Poverty Action Group said:
"The announcement of the extension of free school meals to a further half a million primary children with parents in work lifting another 50,000 children out of poverty is fantastic news and will help hard pressed family budgets stretch further. We are pleased the Chancellor has listened to campaigners’ calls on this issue.
"While it’s right that benefits should be uprated when families are struggling, a 1.5% increase in the light of predicted increases in CPI inflation next year will lead to poorer families falling further behind and leave benefits well below the poverty line.
"Although the better off in work guarantee and investment in giving opportunities to young unemployed people are welcome, work must always provide a guaranteed route out of poverty. With 60% of children in poverty in working families, the guarantee is not sufficient to address in-work poverty.
"We are pleased the Chancellor is introducing tax measures guided by fairness as a part of fiscal responsibility but much bolder redistribution is needed through the tax system. The Chancellor is right to ask those with the broadest shoulders to bear most of the burden but the poorest families must get more."
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