Stark message to government over ‘shameful’ child poverty

The president of the Association of Directors of Children's Services has sent a direct challenge to the Labour government to "eradicate child poverty".

Labour recently announced a new taskforce for its Child Poverty Strategy, headed up by work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall and education secretary Bridget Phillipson, who addressed the annual ADCS conference by video link.

She told delegates the new government would "deliver a cross-government strategy on child poverty," which would be "the key to unlocking opportunity for us all" and praised those working in children's services: "I recognise the difficult decisions you make and your tireless efforts for children and families."

But in his presidential speech to conference, Andy Smith used the opportunity to send a clear message to the new Labour government. He said their new strategy does not go far enough and called for the total eradication of child poverty.

"There are huge, irrefutable issues that are impacting on large numbers of children and their families that need to be addressed to provide the stability and security that is such an important element of childhood. 

"The impact of child poverty is now widely reported. From the two-child benefit cap, homelessness and unsuitable temporary accommodation, general financial insecurity for families, particularly working parents, to the overall impact of austerity which has limited our ability to mitigate must now be addressed. 

"The new government has committed to an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty.

“I would say this doesn’t go far enough, we need to eradicate child poverty if we are to start to create a society that is based on the principles of social justice and recognises the importance of childhood for all children.” 

Pointing to the recent publication of the ADCS paper Childhood Matters, he urged Keir Starmer to "put children and families at the heart of all national policy decisions and invest in them and their futures".

He also called for a cross-government plan for childhood "focused on improving children's outcomes in a systemic way, accompanied by a long term, sustainable funding settlement".

Criticising the "silos" that exist across children's policy, he added: "The system is fragmented... and limits our ability to positively work with children and families in a holistic way."

Speaking of the proposals set out in the 2022 Independent Review of Children's Social Care Smith said: "The reforms cannot be delivered without appropriate funding, and we can't continue to rob Peter to pay Paul. 

“The big figure in the care review was £2.6 billion and that doesn't include the ever-growing funding gap. The longer we leave it the more it will cost."

The last government only committed £200 million to reforming children’s social care, and the new government has not indicated plans to change this.

Smith also pointed to the state of local authority budgets: “While there continues to be a funding gulf in children’s services, the overall perilous state of local government finance must be addressed if we are serious about addressing the growing inequalities that have been left to go unchecked. Long term, sustainable funding for local government is the only solution."

The impact of 14 years of austerity has had a direct impact on millions of childhoods, educational outcomes and public services, he said.

"Life for many is now much harder, and the systemic issues are more entrenched."

Sharing what he described as "shameful" statistics from the Childhood Matters report, he reminded the new government that 4.2 million children are living in poverty, and demand for children's services continues to rise across the board.

Smith called for sustainable funding to reform children's social care and an end to for-profit enterprises in children's social care.

He also singled out SEND reforms for criticism, saying increasingly children are no longer benefiting from mainstream education, with many educated far from home. The funding local authorities receive via the high needs block has not kept up with demand and is a "ticking financial time bomb top of the worry list for most (directors)".

The Department for Education recently announced SEND provision will move from the children and families brief to schools. Responding to concerns about child poverty statistics, a spokesperson said: "We're committed to reducing child poverty, tackling the causes and giving every child the best start at life."

BASW's chief executive Ruth Allen has written a letter to the chancellor demanding an end to the two-child benefits cap. She wrote: “We understand that you face tough choices, but the consequences of retaining this punitive policy are stark and far-ranging. To do so accepts pushing and trapping more children and families into poverty. It accepts children going hungry, undermining educational attainment, resulting in stigma, exclusion and health problems, and storing up huge social and economic problems for the future.”