Children missing from this Budget

Children were noticeable by their absence in the Budget today, despite the clock counting down to the publication of the UK's first child poverty strategy. The measures announced failed to create the investment needed to eradicate child poverty in the UK, and neither the Chancellor nor the Leader of the Opposition spent time reflecting upon how the Budget would impact on children's lives.

Where children did make an appearance, this was largely to demonstrate the contribution they could make to supporting economic growth, as well as reiterating already-announced initiatives to support poorer families. While new apprenticeships, the pupil premium and the investment in early years will no doubt be welcome to many children and families, raising the income tax threshold to benefit poorer families while retaining VAT at 20% seems to give with one hand while continuing to take away with the other. The Chancellor's commitment to helping families with the high cost of living is laudable but, without the investment to accompany it, it remains merely an aspiration.