Greater expectations for every child in the UK

When he was leader of the opposition in 2008 David Cameron stated that “we all know in our hearts that creating a good society for children to grow up in is one of the greatest tests of any nation’s character” and that “we we really can make this country the best place in the world for children to grow up”.  The reality, however, is that the UK is far from being the best place in the in the world for children.

Looking at 12 key indicators that cover data on different aspects of children’s lives today compared to nearly 50 years ago, NCB’s major new report Greater Expectations shows that poverty and disadvantage still wreaks havoc on children’s lives, causing them to lag far behind their more affluent peers from health to education, early development to housing.

A child from a disadvantaged background is still far less likely to achieve a good level of development at age four, to achieve well at school age 11 and do well in their GCSEs at 16 compared to a child from the most well-off backgrounds. Boys living in deprived areas are three times more likely to be obese than boys growing up in affluent areas and girls are twice as likely. And children in those communities are much more likely to be the victim of an accident in the home and are nine times less likely than those living in affluent areas to have access to green space, places to play and to live in environments with better air quality.

Compared to other industrialised nations we are not doing as well as we could and should. Other countries in Europe that are just as rich as the UK do much better. For example, in Denmark a million fewer children grow up in poverty. If we were doing as well as Switzerland and the Netherlands, 45,000 fewer 11-year -olds would be obese and the deaths of 172 children through unintentional injuries alone could be prevented every year.

As a nation we need to be far more ambitious about raising standards so that outcomes for all children in the UK are equal to, if not better than, countries that outperform us. In an age of austerity the government has to be prudent but what the Treasury decides to invest in directly impacts on children’s lives. For example, this administration and the previous one chose to invest in early years provision for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. As a result, the number of children in early education has increased dramatically, which will make a significant difference to their life chances.

In the run-up to the next election all parties need to put tackling child poverty and reducing inequality at the heart of their agenda for change. The current coalition should make a joint political commitment to not simply improve social mobility, which the government says is the principal goal of its current social policy, but to address the inequality gap between rich and poor, which is damaging the lives of too many children. Resources need to not only be directed to those from disadvantaged backgrounds, through policies such as the pupil premium, but also on reducing inequality itself.  The gap between those at the top and bottom must be narrowed. One important way to address this imbalance would be for the independent Office for Budget Responsibility to disclose the impact each Budget would have on child poverty and inequality in the report it publishes alongside the Chancellor’s annual statement.

Political commitments and action are vital but they must also be underpinned by fundamental changes to the way in which politicians and civil society function to ensure that activity to reduce inequality for children and young people continues until real, sustainable change is made. To achieve this, NCB wants to work with other organisations to establish a common set of indicators that are used as a matrix to hold government to account for what it is doing to address the inequalities and disadvantage that children face. It would also be a means for parliament and civil society to annually hold government to account and provide the basis for a shared vision of what we want to achieve for all our children.

Overall, a collective endeavour is required to tackle the persistent poverty and inequality that has created a nation where unequal childhoods have become a permanent feature. Unless action is taken, there is a real risk of sleep walking into a world in which children’s lives are so polarised that rich and poor live in separate, parallel worlds, and we tacitly accept that some children are simply destined to experience hardship and disadvantage by accident of birth.

Enver Solomon is Director of Evidence and Impact at the National Children’s Bureau.