Uphill struggle on child poverty

COUNCIL chiefs at Warrington have approved a strategy for reducing child poverty in the borough over the next three years – but have accused the Government of strangling the scheme through cuts.
Cllr Colin Froggatt (right), the council’s executive member for children’s services told members of the executive board: “I think the Prime Minister and the Government should say how this should be funded.”
The meeting was told that the Child Poverty Act, whiched received Royal Assent in March last year, introduced a statutory requirement for councils and partners to co-operate to reduce child poverty in their areas.
They were required to prepare a local child poverty needs assessment and prepare a strategy based on the needs assessment in consultation with children, parents and organisations representing children and parents.
Cllr Froggatt said the aims of the child poverty strategy were closely linked to the Warrington Partnership’s existing “Closing the Gap” programme, which was set up to explore how services could be better targeted to break the cycle of deprivation and now the inequality gap that existed in Warrington.
Objectives included tackling unemployment, debt, educational failure and poor health and strengthening families.
Crucially, the programme aimed to increased take-up of benefits, increased financial capability among disadvantaged communities, provide debt management and welfare benefit advice, provide parental and tax credit advice at primary schools and build a closer relationship with the Citizen’s Advice Bureau to provide enhanced advice to parents in disadvantaged areas.
But, Cllr Froggatt argued, the Government’s cuts in benefits across the board, particularly those affecting women, made it hard for the council to do anything about it. Many women were mothers and if their benefits were cut it was the children who suffered.
Leader of the council Cllr Terry O’Neill (left) said Warrington could be the best authority in the country, but if did not have a budget to provide the funding it would be an uphill struggle.
“It doesn’t appear the Government is funding local authorities as it should,” he said.