United Kingdom Jonathan Bradshaw Seminar on Child Poverty and Child Well-being Brussels 26 November 2009

In 1980s child poverty more than doubled

1999 Tony Blair announces eradication of child poverty by 2020  Strategy  Manage economy to maximise employment  Make work pay – minimum wage, child benefit, tax credits  Improve out of work benefits for families with children  Invest in health, education, childcare  Targets and monitoring

Opportunity for All indicators

Positive record  (Before the recession) employment at record levels  Lone parent employment up 44-57%  OECD “Growing unequal” UK, Belgium, Italy and Hungary only countries in EU with reduction in child poverty  Moved up the EU league table – even better on poverty gaps and deprivation  Massive extra investment + Euros 5000 for bottom quintile families  1.7 million more poor children without it

Faults in strategy  Awful starting point  Too little too late  Child poverty rate still double 1979  Missed 5 year and 10 year targets  Too reliant on employment  Half of poor children have a working parent  Children in workless households highest in EU  Out of work benefits way below poverty threshold  Failed to find the means –cf £5 billion to meet 2010 target £20 billion to RBS  Public support suspect

Child poverty fell – but not sustained

Net disposable income for a couple plus two children before housing costs by hours supplied at the minimum wage from April Rent = £60 a week, Council Tax = £18.00 a week

EU Child well-being: Summary

Future  Recession – social protection better but not poverty proof  Policies in the pipe-line – 600,000 more children lifted out of poverty  Institutional transformation  Child Poverty Bill – targets for 2020, published strategy, Child Poverty Commissioner, All Party Support  Key is how will government respond to the deficit  Wait for General Election

Final Fact  Goldman Sachs bonus pool for 2009= $23 billion  About twice as much as is needed to reach the 2010 child poverty target