Lib Dems: Child Poverty Strategy will still leave four million trapped in poverty

EMBARGO: Immediate Release 

Responding to the Government’s new child poverty strategy, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson, Munira Wilson MP, said:

“What has been announced today is just a collection of existing proposals, which is very light on any new measures that we desperately need to tackle the scourge of child poverty.

“Even the Government’s own numbers suggest that this strategy will leave nearly four million children trapped in poverty.

“If the Government is serious about ending the use of B&B accommodation, they must focus on building councils and social rent homes. We need 150,000 annually - homes that local people can genuinely afford and built with local services.

“Liberal Democrats are calling for the Government to go further with any new measures to tackle child poverty. To start with, they must properly fund their free school meals rollout and auto-enroll families on the scheme, so no child slips through the cracks.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

For reference to Government figures indicating nearly four million children will still be trapped in poverty under the new strategy, see here. The figure is referenced in a quote from Phillip Anderson, the Strategic Director for External Affairs at the National Children's Bureau (NCB).