Budget offers last chance to meet 2010 targets
Kate Smith

CHILD poverty campaigners last night called on the chancellor to pledge an extra £4 billion in tax credits and benefits in this week's Budget to get Labour's targets on tackling impoverishment back on track.

They've called for seasonal grants to provide additional money for low-income families at the times of year when it is most needed. This alone could help lift 440,000 children in the UK out of severe poverty.

Research by Save The Children reveals that 250,000 children in Scotland, or one in four, is in poverty, while 90,000 live in severe poverty.

As Alistair Darling prepares his first Budget, 71 Labour MPs have written to him backing calls for money to be put into Labour's pledge, which was made under Tony Blair, to halve child poverty by 2010 and eradicate it by 2020.

Since 1998/99, the number of children in poverty has been reduced from 3.4 million to 2.8 million last year, but the government's target of cutting this figure to 1.7 million by 2010 is unlikely to be met.

Save The Children said more than 1.5 million children in the UK live in severe poverty, and there has been no change in that number in recent years. For a lone parent with two children, severe poverty means surviving on less than £8000 a year.

Research shows that one quarter of children in Scotland are without basics such as proper winter clothing, after-school activities and nutritious food. One third of those in severe poverty can not afford play equipment such as a bike or a football, while a quarter can't attend toddler or play groups once a week. Twenty percent of these youngsters cannot afford to celebrate occasions like Christmas or birthdays.

Douglas Hamilton, head of policy and research at Save The Children in Scotland, said: "If action is not taken this week thousands of children will still be waiting."

The Budget is probably the government's last chance to put cash into the system to meet its 2010 deadline.

Gordon Brown once described child poverty as "the scar that demeans Britain", but the public purse is now under pressure from the nationalisation of Northern Rock, incurring about £90 billion of public debt, and military operations in Iraq, which cost about £900m a year. At the end of 2006, the war in Afghanistan had cost £1bn.

Hamilton continued: "The government made an ambitious pledge to halve child poverty by 2010 but at current rates of progress, this target won't be reached until 2024.

"That is why this week's Budget is absolutely crucial. The target can still be met, but only if the chancellor commits to the additional spending required to make it happen. An extra £4 billion is required to get back on track, and one way this money could be spent is on seasonal grants."

Hamilton said the effects of severe poverty were devastating and complex and that the experience of poverty in childhood has lifelong consequences.

The Institute of Fiscal Studies says £4bn in benefits and child tax credits is required in order to reach the 2010 target. This would ensure that people in work would be paid through an increase in the minimum wage announced last week, and in-work benefits and tax credits. It would also ensure families unable to work could access to benefits that would not leave them in poverty.

The letter from MPs is signed by, among others, Ann Begg, Jim Devine and Phil Wilson. It states: "Wednesday's budget presents an important opportunity to make the investment that is needed to get the government back on track for meeting its target of halving child poverty by 2010.

"We appreciate there are strong competing demands for limited funding, but the long-term economic impact and social consequences of child poverty merit the chancellor making it a priority. Expectations are high among the general public and within the party. We urge the prime minister and the chancellor to ensure that tackling child poverty is at the heart of the budget announcement."

One area of concern Darling may look at is fuel poverty. More than 4.5 million people live in fuel poverty in the UK, spending more than 10% of their income on power. This is set to increase since energy companies announced further rises of up to 27% in energy bills.

Energy firms are meant to offer social tariffs for the elderly and poor, but the ratio of these customers is as low as 0.3%. Save The Children estimates more than one in 10 children in Scotland lives in fuel poverty. Many families have taken out high-interest loans, often with an APR of more than 183%, to cover fuel bills and other essentials.