Child Poverty Strategy - Will Warm Words be Enough?

The government has finally published its new child poverty strategy, and on the surface there's a lot to welcome. It includes plans to make baby formula more affordable, extend breastfeeding support, bring in a six week limit on families in temporary accomodation staying in B&Bs, more help with upfront childcare costs for people leaving Universal Credit (UC) to return to work, free school breakfast clubs, free school meals for all families on UC and a cap on the amount of branded school uniform items that can be required.

There's talk of "breaking cycles", "supporting families" and of giving children the best possible start in life, all things very much needed.

Sadly though there is a big problem with the strategy thats impossible to ignore.

The govenment has set itself no clear targets.

There is no commitment to the amount of children it intends to lift out of poverty.

No timelines.

No measurable outcomes that families can point to and say "yes, this really made a difference for us"

This is deeply concerning because without targets there is no real accountability. Good intentions won't buy school shoes, heating, food or the endless extras that come with raising children in a system that expects parents to absorb all the costs. And this isn't new. We're forever told that new legislation will fix things, that new requirements will will bring change, and that once something is written into law it will become real life. Sadly our experience and that of many families tells a different story.

The Cost of School Uniform Act (2021) is a perfect example. It was meant to make school uniform more affordable for families. In reality, many schools still insisit on expensive branded items, limited and hard to access suppliers,"optional" extras that somehow become considered essential, and the required provision of preloved uniform still non existent in many schools despite being a requirement for over three years. The law exists, but no one has been given the job of policing it, guidance is vague, and our studies have shown more families here in Torbay are struggling with the cost of school uniform than ever before. So a legal requirement has not transpired into meaningful change.

SEND families know this too well too. Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) are a legal entitlement meant to guarantee relevant and appropriate support to the children who need it. Despite this, many families spend years fighting for assessments, provisions that never get put in place, or have plans that look good on paper but fall apart in practice. The law says one thing, but families lived reality says another.

When a strategy such as the Child Poverty Strategy leans heavilly on aspirations without setting clear goals, it raises alarm bells. Families living in poverty don't need more promises, they need certainty, they need change, and they need to know who will be held responsible if they don't.

Child poverty isn't a statistic. It's children going without the absolute basics. It's parents skipping meals, its children missing school trips, wearing the wrong uniform, or falling behind because the system treats everyone like they start from the same place when they simply don't.

To be serious about tackling child poverty we need the government to be brave enough to set targets, and to enable scrutiny and accountability on whether it meets them. Anything less feels more like a headline grab and just another well meaning bunch of words that families can't heat their homes with.

Warm words are not a strategy, accountability is, and children deserve nothing less.