How would you tackle child poverty and improve outcomes?

[Cindyyyy]

I would back:

• free basic school meals for all from 3 (extras can be paid for) of healthy, veg-based, minimally-processed meals
• investment into school-based pre-school, to be free for all from age 3
• increase school funding massively, pay rises for teachers and nursery staff, investment and subsidies into training
• increase number of SEN schools and in-school SEN provision, as well as PRUs
• subsidised holiday clubs for all parents working full time
• extend SureStart, increase reviews by health visitors. If a child isn’t meeting milestones, earlier intervention and increased checks
• expand apprenticeships

You?

I agree that schools need much more resource and involvement.

I think going on about it being parents responsibility etc just shows a real level of ignorance tbh. Would the world be better if adults only had kids they wanted and could afford? Yes. Will that ever happen? No. Do people not have children in counties where there's no welfare? No. There's just more poverty. Making existing children poorer will not help. Feckless adults have always bred and always will, unless we're going to sterilise them

State supplied childcare.
Schemes which match farms with schools and nurseries so food is local and could also offer training/work.
Fund wrap round care in a way that allows better paid staff who can deliver cookery lessons, life skills, enrichment in an age appropriate way.

I think we need to stop asking schools to do everything and resource other services properly.

That there would be actual jobs and they would pay enough to fund a basic life. That if you work hard that there is career progression and incentives not to stay on benefits.
That you are better off working than not. Then we teach children in school that this is the point and that’s what they are there for, giving them something to work towards.
Stop making GCSEs harder all the time so it’s harder for those at the lower end to pass. Maths GCSE is nothing like what I was doing 35 years ago. It’s not making children smarter, it’s setting more up to fail.
Bring fun back into education especially primary. Give them more options when they are teenagers than a full timetable of GCSEs most of them don’t need.
Reduce rents and house pricing in line with what people are actually earning. I grew up in a 4 bed house paid for by one income. It’s worth a fortune now.

Agree, it means a set percentage will always be deemed in poverty. In reality, I think poverty of the 90s or before is long gone now except in cases where the parents are mentally ill or addicts.

Reduce universal credit, remove the triple lock, keep the two child benefit cap. That’d easily cover it.

Tax the super rich

Where is the money coming from? It’s no good having a wants list. Who can truly afford the huge tax increase this would need. We mostly need to provide for our own dc. It’s our responsibility. It’s not good enough to expect more and more from the state.

“Run the risk of being evicted every six months on the whims of a landlord”

Like everyone else in private rent aka 19% of UK households?

There is absolutely no way the state should be paying for children with separated parents to have bedrooms at both houses, for them to sit empty half the time. No way at all.

By reducing the benefits given in cash to the parents. Removing the two child benefit cap is going to cost 3.5b; that’d pay for a lot of afterschool clubs.

Why is it benefit claimants think people who don’t claim never get evicted, always have money to pay their bills, are insulated from every financial problem? If anything we are far more at risk than they are, of eviction, bankruptcy, unemployment, repossession. They’ve lost touch with reality as they’re so used to everything being free, discounted or just provided for them.

The birthrate is highest in countries where women don’t receive education. We need to focus on education, not handouts for the uneducated.

Review the definition of poverty and tie it to actual material deprivation.

The current definition is based on percentile of household income so it’s mathematically impossible for there not to be children living in poverty unless you sterilise the lowest earners to stop them having children.

Equally making it illegal to pay anyone over minimum wage would eradicate poverty because there would no longer be a bottom 20%

The super rich won't be funding other people's lifestyle choices, that's for sure.

I worked in family hubs 20 years ago and I saw the work being done. They didn’t last long enough to see an improvement unfortunately

But despite that, there was lasting impact. Imagine what could have been achieved if voters government hadn't refused to continue funding it.

For a relatively small investment, and as you say, only maintained for a short period, these outcomes are nothing short of miraculous.

ifs.org.uk/publications/short-and-medium-term-effects-sure-start-childrens-outcomes

👏👏👏👏👏Absolutely 100%

I'm as socialist as they come and I agree absolutely the super rich should pay their taxes, but they don't and how are you going to make them? They're the group that can easily move elsewhere.

Bring back food and clothing vouchers, which is probably against people’s human rights these days.

I grew up in a family of six dcs where our f kept breeding because he got more family allowance. We were nothing more than a revenue stream, and there are plenty of men who see children that way. We went without while he had handmade suits.

I'd pay child benefit in vouchers, for school uniform, for shoes, for food to stop that happening again. I'd refinance SureStart centres and provide free school meals.

I'd offer free childcare for the under 11s to any mum attending college or working full time. There has to be a viable way for women to gain skills and escape poverty because it is women who lead their children out of poverty.

I’m sorry that happened to you and fully agree with you.

Period products should be free from schools (I think they already are), meals should be provided for all, uniforms and school shoes should be subsidised.

I was also raised in poverty by a mother who chose that lifestyle. Giving her more money wouldn’t have given me the stability I needed.

I don’t think they will move there’s too much money here. They’re absolutely raking it in and they need to pay or FO

Decent low cost housing with proper public realm to encourage community spirit.
Early years parenting support such as Home Start provides.
No more government support for low wages. UC is effectively a subsidy enabling employers to pay low wages. No one in full employment should need to claim benefit.

Decent healthcare and proper schooling.

The trouble is, the UK can't afford any of the solutions as things currently stand. Increasing taxation is not the answer to that either. Alienating high/higher rate taxpayers will only serve to reduce tax revenue. Hammering organisations will only make them move elsewehere. A healthy sovereign wealth fund is what is needed. If only the UK had followed Norway with the North Sea oil reserves.

They should be able to set their own rent , as I said it should be monitored and set at a standard of no more than a certain percentage higher than the value in that area.
Like pp I rent ( HA) , the house next door to me which is exactly the same layout as mine is over £200 more pm than mine.

They can mostly make their money elsewhere though, and even if they're not paying enough tax, they are creating jobs while they stay.