Children's rights and spending cuts - irreconcilable concepts?

The drip-drip of information coming from the coalition Government over the past weeks and months finally came together in the Spending Review announcements yesterday: £81 billion cuts in total, and an £18 billion reduction in welfare spending. The Government calls it economic necessity. The Opposition says it is a political choice. But what does it mean for children?

It is generally accepted that poverty has a profound impact on children's health, education, aspirations and life chances, and well-recognised that poverty is one of the most significant barriers to children being able to realise their rights. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child gives every child the right to an adequate standard of living, and places duties on governments not only to support parents to provide this for their children, but also to ensure that the maximum extent of available resources are directed towards fulfilling children's rights.