The Church of England has expressed concern that the Government's child poverty strategy unveiled last week will not help the deprived children of today and has called for a renewed focus on household income.

The Mission and Public Affairs division of the Archbishops' Council said in a statement released today: "We regret that the strategy contains no intention to redistribute wealth at a time when material inequality in Britain is higher than it has been for over a century."

It added that the new Government measures would not have immediate effect "and our strongest concerns are reserved for the outcomes experienced by children now".

While the Church supports the Government view that effective parenting, strong families with at least one parent in work, access to good education and good life chances are vitally important for all children. It believes that any child poverty strategy has to focus on household income "because, in practices and despite all the other factors which affect childrens' wellbeing, money matters."

The statement adds: "Whilst time is allowed for social mobility to become a reality for all, we have to make sure our children do not suffer in the short or medium term."

The Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, Bishop for Urban Life and Faith said: "Child poverty is a persistent problem within our society.  Family and pre-school poverty left unaddressed seriously inhibits the opportunities children have to reach their potential. Child poverty is a family matter that challenges fundamental values which underpin our life together in community. We welcome the Government's initiative to develop policies that are seeking to find ways of alleviating child poverty.

The ever present problems of poverty cannot be ignored.  It is essential that when national government and local authorities look at cuts the problems of everyday poverty faced by children and their families are not forgotten. The need to tackle child poverty cannot be shelved as if it is a problem for the future; it is one that needs to be overcome with policies that have an immediate impact. I hope that the Government will set out clear targets designed to eradicate this evil and be willing to be held accountable to them"

The full statement is below:
Even in the current climate of austerity there is a responsibility to ensure that the welfare of children is maximised in any system of benefits and allocation of resources from the public purse. In its new child poverty strategy announced today the Government sets out how it intends to do that; addressing what it considers to be the root causes of poverty based on the firm conviction that poverty is about more than income. Rather than tackling inequality through a redistribution of wealth, the Government intends to tackle child poverty through improving social mobility, changing welfare provisions to make work pay and decentralising services to make them more targeted.  In order to measure its success, the Government has set out new child poverty indicators. These will be grouped around household income, parental employment and children's life chances. 

The Church of England welcomes the intention to focus on the root causes of poverty and agrees that incentives to find work are important in tackling entrenched views about work in some communities. We are also supportive of the Government's intention to improve social mobility and welcome its long term strategy to enable each person to reach their potential whatever the circumstances of their birth. However these measures will not have immediate effect and our strongest concerns are reserved for the outcomes experienced by children now.

Effective parenting, strong families with at least one parent in work, access to good education and good life chances are vitally important for all children. However we believe any child poverty strategy has to focus on household income because, in practices and despite all the other factors which affect childrens' wellbeing, money matters. Whilst time is allowed for social mobility to become a reality for all, we have to make sure our children do not suffer in the short or medium term.

We regret that the strategy contains no intention to redistribute wealth at a time when material inequality in Britain is higher than it has been for over a century. Inequality, at least as much as absolute definitions of poverty, has been shown to be detrimental to the wellbeing of children and families. The cuts in social benefits, including a 3-year freeze on child benefit, have a cumulative effect on the income of families with children. This is therefore a matter of great concern, particularly in a climate of stagnation where the job market is not growing and a policy focussed on work can be subverted by the state of the job market. 

For example the 3 year freeze on child benefit means for a family with two children according to the FPI is equivalent to £73 pa in 2011-12 rising to £192.32 pa in 2013-14.  Such a loss is particularly hard for those on low incomes, particularly those defined as in poverty.

Because of the Church of England's intimate experience of all the communities of the land, we have no option but to be sensitive to the realities experienced by the most vulnerable and poor families as economic policies and the cuts in welfare are exacerbated by the cuts in services and support made by local authorities. Whilst we recognise the government's sincerity in its objectives, we expect policy to be fully informed by the real experiences of all those whose lives will be affected. We are yet to be fully convinced that the proposals do enough to meet needs of the vulnerable, especially vulnerable children.

Notes:
1. On the 5^th April 2011 the Government published two strategies, Open Doors, breaking barriers: A Strategy for Social Mobility and A New Approach to child poverty: Tackling the causes of disadvantage and transforming families' lives

2. The strategy on child poverty was published under the requirements of the Child Poverty Act 2010, which received Royal Assent on 25 March 2010.

3. It follows the consultation Tackling child poverty and improving life chances: consulting on a new approach. For MPA's response to this consultation see http://www.churchofengland.org/our-views/marriage,-family-and-sexuality-issues/children/child-poverty.aspx