Today the Government announced its Child Poverty Strategy that aims to lift half a million children out of poverty by the end of this parliament.
The key components are:
- Expansion of free school meals to families in receipt of Universal Credit
- More accessible childcare for parents on universal credit
- Ending the two-child benefit cap
In response Charlotte Hill OBE, CEO of The Felix Project and Kris Gibbon Walsh, CEO of FareShare UK said:
"The Child Poverty Strategy released today is a significant step forward, and we welcome the announcement. Through the 8000 organisations we support across the UK, we know just how many parents are having to rely on charitable food aid to ensure they can put food on the table."
"We recently found that 4 in every 10 working parents have skipped a meal to feed their children, with 1 in 5 of those doing so regularly. No parent should be going through this, and no child should live in poverty."
"Across FareShare's UK network, we are helping more than 500,000 children and families access good food each year, but demand is still rising fast. 83% of our charities are telling us that demand for food is rising, with many seeing up to 50 new people each week seeking support."
"Children who grow up in poverty are far more likely to fall behind at school, face unemployment and experience poor health. These poor outcomes cost both the UK and the people affected enormously."
"We hope the government will deliver on this strategy and make lives better for the millions of children across the UK who live in relative poverty, many of whom rely on food that we supply."