‘Gravely concerned’ children’s charity leaders call for benefits uplift
Joe Lepper
Thursday, October 13, 2022
Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng is being urged by a group of more than 25 children’s charity leaders to ensure benefits are increased in line with inflation.
In a joint letter to Kwarteng they warn they are “gravely concerned about the impact it will have on children if families face a real-terms cut to social security”.
If benefits do not keep pace with inflation a further 200,000 children will be plunged into poverty.
They remind the Chancellor that already in the UK 3.9m children are growing up in poverty.
“Now is not the time to leave families with less,” warns their letter.
“Please do the right thing and protect children during this crisis,” they urge Kwarteng.
“Benefits must rise in line with inflation, or we will leave our next generation with less than we had.”
Among charity chief executives to sign the letter is The Children’s Society’s Mark Russell, Save the Children UK’s Gwen Hines, Peter Wanless of the NSPCC and Barnardo’s Lynn Perry.
British Association of Social Workers chair Julia Ross as well as National Youth Agency chief executive Leigh Middleton are among other signatories.
The charity leaders' letter cites research published this year by the Children’s Society, which found that the majority of parents are concerned about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on their family over the next year.
Nine in 10 parents in debt already cut back on necessities for their children, the charity chiefs say.
“Going without these essentials impacts children’s physical, mental and educational development, staying with them for the rest of their lives,” states the letter.
They add that child poverty already costs the UK economy £38bn a year through reduced revenues and increasing need for support services.
“As a society we are rightly committed to reducing child poverty,” states the letter.
“It’s the right thing to do morally and it is good for government finances”.
Our joint letter to the chancellor @KwasiKwarteng… 🧵 pic.twitter.com/yJZxQ5Bzxw
— Children's Society (@childrensociety) October 12, 2022
