HISTORIC PRESS RELEASE : Tackling Child Poverty – Giving every child the best start in life [December 2001]

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 13 December 2001.

The Government’s commitment to giving every child the best start in life, will require further action to improve both incomes and services, the Chancellor Gordon Brown stressed today as he launched a new strategy paper on tackling child poverty. At the same event, Education Secretary, Estelle Morris was able to announce a £10 million boost to the Sure Start programme to help make existing services more accessible to those that need them.

They were speaking at a seminar at Number 11 Downing Street attended by Ministerial colleagues, religious leaders, key community groups and charitable organizations. Those also attending include Work and Pensions Secretary Alistair Darling, Home Office Minister John Denham, as well as the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Chief Rabbi and the Archbishop of Westminster.

Gordon Brown said:

“Every child and young person deserves the best possible start in life.  For too long in the past families with children missed out, both financially and on growing up in a secure environment, with wider opportunities to develop.  This Government is determined to put families first and to abolish the scourge of child poverty forever.

Tackling child poverty and disadvantage is not about providing either more money or better public services; it is about the necessity of both.  As Government supports parents, in turn it is right that parents fulfil their responsibilities too.  We cannot tackle poverty from the centre of Government alone, but must do so with our valued partners in the voluntary, community and faith sectors.  These sectors have a unique role in reaching local communities and needs on the ground.  I am delighted to meet with our partners today and look forward to taking this partnership even further forward.  Together we can ensure that no child is left behind.”

Estelle Morris, Secretary of State for Education and Skills said:

“Tackling child poverty means working across Government to improve the services families depend on and increase the incomes they receive. We are determined to work in partnership with local communities, the statutory and voluntary sectors, to deliver the services that parents want and children need.

Sure Start has an important role to play in improving the life chances of young children in disadvantaged areas. It makes a tremendous difference to young children’s learning and development and provides a flying start rather than leaving children trapped in social disadvantage.

Building on the progress we have already made, I am delighted today to be able to announce a £10 million programme over the next two years to build the lessons of Sure Start into our core services to benefit more children.”

The £10 million pilots will cover a range of activities to meet local needs including:

• training up parents in the community to be part of home-visiting teams who provide support and advice to parents-to-be and new parents;
• schemes to encourage people from disadvantaged areas to take up training and jobs in health and childcare to fill vacancies in their own communities; and
• re-shaping of health services away from routine visiting to provide more coherent and responsive services for new mothers and mothers-to-be.

These pilots will focus on developing a culture of prevention and adapting existing services to make them more accessible to the families who most need them. This £10 million is being made available for a number of pilots over the next two years out of the resources allocated to Sure Start as part of the last Spending Review.

Today’s paper “Tackling child poverty: giving every child the best possible start in life” sets out the Government’s approach to tackling child poverty, with four key strands:

• providing more support for family finances
• giving priority to children’s services, especially health and education
• offering support to parenting for life
• pursuing a partnership with the voluntary and community sectors.

The paper sets out the context for policy decisions to come in the Budget and Spending Review of 2002 and the years to follow.  It welcomes others’ views.