A universal payment of €50 per month per child aged under six could take 800,000 children out of poverty across Europe, according to a study commissioned by the European Commission into the potential effects of introducing a child basic income.
The researchers made use of EUROMOD, the tax-benefit microsimulation model for the EU, to look at the distributional implications (within and between countries) of an illustrative child basic income operated and funded at EU level.
Fears have been highlighted that children's nutrition is suffering as a consequence of the economic recession, following a new survey of professionals working with children. At the same time the government is reported to have commissioned research into the rapid growth of food banks, soup kitchens and school breakfast clubs.
The Children's Food Trust (formerly the School Food Trust) surveyed 253 professionals online between November 2012 and February 2013.
EU member states are being urged to tackle child poverty and social exclusion through multi-dimensional approaches, in an important strategy statement issued by the European Commission. The statement accompanies a wider package of proposals on social investment in the EU.
Rates of child poverty vary widely between different local areas, according to a 'map' of poverty rates produced by the End Child Poverty campaign coalition.
The map shows child poverty rates by parliamentary constituency, local authority and ward. The data is for mid-2012, using a measure of child poverty as close as possible to that used by the government nationally.
EU member states are being urged to tackle child poverty and social exclusion through multi-dimensional approaches, in an important strategy statement issued by the European Commission. The statement accompanies a wider package of proposals on social investment in the EU.
The coalition needs to urgently review its approach to reducing child poverty, says a new report from the National Children's Bureau. The government should spend less time focusing on how child poverty is measured, it argues, and concentrate instead on practical lessons from other countries about what works best in tackling the problem.
£8 billion will be spent on reacting to the problems of 'troubled families' in England over the five years to 2015, rather than addressing them proactively, according to an analysis from the Department for Communities and Local Government. The analysis is used to justify the coalition's decision (in December 2011) to spend a further £448 million on its Troubles Families programme.
Nearly 1 in 5 children who are living materially deprived lives – 2.3 million in total – are excluded from the government's headline measure of relative income poverty, according to a report from the Policy Exchange think tank. This, it says, is despite the £170 billion spent between 2003 and 2010 on financial support for the poorest households with children.
by Nick Bailey and Mike Tomlinson
The Department of Work and Pensions has just published the results of an online poll as part of its contribution to its own consultation on measuring child poverty. But, like the consultation itself, it is deeply flawed.
The PSE team has already published its (highly critical) submission (PSE policy response working paper No. 8) to the government consultation which closes on 15 February.
As many as nine out of ten people say children can be described as living in poverty if their parents are addicted to drugs or alcohol, according to an opinion survey carried out for the government. This is more than the proportion who say lack of money is a factor in child poverty.
The results come from a survey carried out in December 2012 by GfK NOP. 967 people were contacted by telephone. They were asked the question: 'Could you please tell me how important you think each of the following are when deciding whether someone is growing up in poverty?' (followed by a list of 12 options, of which people could pick up to four).