BASW: Latest stats on child poverty

As Alan Milburn and Baroness Shephard, chairman and deputy chairman of a new Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission call on Government to do more to meet the global 2020 target on child poverty, Nushra Mansuri has described the latest statistics on the number of children defined as being impoverished "a sorry state of affairs for one of the richest economies in the world".

In an interview with the Independent newspaper, Mr Milburn stated that it was widely acknowledged that the child poverty target will not be met by 2020, saying government “should either put their hand in their pocket or stop pretending”.

Commenting on the Institute for Fiscal Studies’ estimate that the current figure of 2.3 million children (18%) currently defined as being impoverished could rise as high as 3.3 million by 2020, BASW professional officer Nushra Mansuri said: “These statistics make for depressing reading.

“The prognosis for the coming years only deepens BASW’s concerns about increasing numbers of children and families finding themselves in poverty.

“It really is a sorry state of affairs for one of the richest economies in the world – recession or no recession. 

“We would all have to concede that the 2020 target is now unattainable this does not mean that we should simply turn our back on the country’s poorest families.

“Addressing the causes of child poverty has become an even greater and more urgent priority as a result of the austerity measures and BASW will continue to work in conjunction with other like- minded agencies and individuals to defend the human rights of those affected.”

Nushra Mansuri will be speaking at an event in Parliament on May 1 to launch the Invest in Caring petition, a campaign for a living wage for mothers and other carers organised by the Global Women's Strike organisation.