Bridget Phillipson: North East child poverty ‘massive issue’

Bridget Phillipson has said the newly unveiled Child Poverty Strategy will “make a huge difference”, as latest figures show 170,000 children in the region live in poverty.

Released on Thursday (December 4), the strategy outlines families will be helped with the costs of baby formula and childcare will be expanded for those on universal credit alongside a raft of other measures.

Said measures are expected to lift more than 550,000 children across the country out of poverty in five years.

Speaking during a visit to Tanfield School in Stanley today, the Houghton and Sunderland South MP added the strategy will work in tandem with other already announced measures including free school meals.

She told The Northern Echo: “We’ll lift more than half a million children out of poverty, and that’s the biggest ever reduction in a parliament since records began.

“This will make a huge difference to children and families. It’s a massive issue in the North East where we know that so many children’s life chances are scarred by child poverty.

“We are already taking action through breakfast clubs, the expansion of 30 hours of government funded childcare for our younger children.

“From next year, we’ll be expanding free school meals to all families in receipt of universal credit and from next April we will lift the two-child limit.

“There is lots of practical change will deliver for families but will also mean that children will grow up with a brighter future.”

She added: “Today I’ve been here in Tanfield School, which has a brilliant story to tell in terms of the turnaround they have delivered.

“High academic standards alongside a real, broad and rich curriculum for the students.

“I think it’s a great example of what can be achieved in schools and there are some national lessons we can learn here from Tanfield.”

But what else does the strategy outline?

• More accessible childcare for those on universal credit, through expanding eligibility for upfront costs to people returning from parental leave
• Families who receive Universal Credit will be able to get support with childcare costs for all their children
• Ending the placement of families in bed and breakfasts beyond six weeks
• Providing £950m for 5,000 homes to be used as temporary accommodation
• Introducing a legal duty to inform schools when a child is in temporary accommodation
• Ending the practice of discharging mums with newborns to bed and breakfasts
• Guidance for retailers to let families to use loyalty points, vouchers, and gift cards to purchase baby formula

Following the publication of the strategy, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Too many children are growing up in poverty, held back from getting on in life, and too many families are struggling without the basics: a secure home, warm meals, and the support they need to make ends meet.

“I will not stand by and watch that happen, because the cost of doing nothing is too high for children, for families, and for Britain.

 “This is a moral mission for me. It’s about fairness, opportunity, and unlocking potential. Our strategy isn’t just about reversing the failures of the past, it sets a new course for national renewal, with children’s life chances at its heart.”

But while the strategy was welcomed by some charities as a good starting point, Big Issue founder Lord John Bird warned against “warm words” and a strategy he said was lacking in “ambitious targets”.

The crossbench peer, who experienced poverty as a child, said: “The absence of ambitious targets to propel forward this Government’s mission to reduce child poverty is deeply concerning.

“In this challenging economic climate, there is every reason to worry warm words will not translate into tangible progress.”

The National Children’s Bureau added it wanted to see “binding targets for further reductions over ten years but this level of ambition is sadly missing”.