The Government’s new UK-wide ‘Tackling Child Poverty’ strategy aims to lift more than half a million children out of poverty through measures including expanding childcare for families on Universal Credit, cost savings on baby formula, and ending the long-term placement of families in B&B accommodation.
Cllr Dr Wendy Taylor MBE, Chair of the LGA’s Health and Wellbeing Committee, said: “Child poverty not only limits children’s life chances and wellbeing, but also imposes significant long-term costs on our economy and society.
“The renewed emphasis [in the strategy] on prevention in key areas, including housing, social care, employment support and health, is a positive step.
“Councils will continue to work closely with government to identify ways in which integration and service reform can enable earlier intervention in the underlying causes of disadvantage.
“However, without additional investment in these services and recognition that councils still face high levels of immediate demand in many acute services, it is hard to see how we will be able to achieve the step change that is needed to reverse current trends successfully.”