NE Child Poverty Commission: 'There's still big challenges around Universal Credit'
They're calling on the Government to be more ambitious and urgent
A North East organisation is calling for changes to Universal Credit saying there's still big challenges around the system.
The North East Child Poverty Commission says the Government's 10-year strategy can't just be about stopping an enormous problem from getting even worse.
Amanda Bailey is a director there and she said: "We know that because the value of that has decreased over the last decade or so it means a large number of families, whether they're in low paid work, they're out of work, they have ill-health, they're looking after a disabled child, or they're looking for work, that means many of those families have been forced to go to things like food banks and to access baby banks.
"That safety net should at least be able to guarantee that families can afford the essentials and that just doesn't happen at the moment, so that really is the starting point that we should say as a country that safety net should be dignified and that when people are in tough times, that should be enough to afford the essentials because we know the cost of not doing that they're huge for individual children and families.
"Just putting pressure on public services, on our health service because clearly there are health implications of not being able to afford the essentials, not being able to eat properly or heat your home. We know there are schools across the region who stepping in and providing food banks, youth groups, and all the other community groups who are stepping in to fill the holes in that safety net. That should be the starting point.
"There are other things that we need to tackle like rising housing costs. Private rents are rising fastest in the North East than they are in any other part of the country. We know that growing numbers of children in our region are living in the private rented sector and those housing costs can be the thing that traps families so we need action on that."
Beth Farhat, chair of the North East Child Poverty Commission, said: "We have to be more ambitious than this, if we are going to genuinely shift the dial on this issue and with the urgency it requires. That includes ensuring Universal Credit enables all families – whether in or out of work – to at least afford the essentials, as well as action on housing costs which, for many families, are what trap them below the poverty line."
The Government says its strategy will lift over half a million children out of relative poverty by 2029.