Child poverty action plan launches in the West of England
New measures to widen childcare access and support struggling families unveiled
A new child poverty action plan for the West of England has been published today, featuring a wide range of measures aimed at supporting disadvantaged children and families across the region.
The plan, which has been praised by anti-poverty campaigner and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown as well as Early Years Minister Olivia Bailey, includes provisions to widen childcare access, enhance youth employment opportunities, and offer targeted financial support to families.
The unveiling of the plan coincides with a joint visit from council leaders and the Mayor to one of seven nurseries in the West of England that have been newly established or expanded to provide additional Early Years provision.
Key aspects of the new action plan
Among the initiatives included in the plan are:
- Widening Early Years childcare provision using rare combined authority powers, alongside a co-operative childcare staff bank to improve coverage
- Launching the Mayor’s VCSE Youth Guarantee Fund to support organisations working with young people
- Getting more young people into work, training or education, with £5 million allocated to the Youth Guarantee and a focus on employment programmes for low-income households
- Creating a fund to boost jobs in the Everyday Economy, particularly in sectors relied on by families
- Establishing a new distribution hub for essential items for families in crisis, with plans to be discussed in January 2024
- Accelerating the availability of more affordable and social homes and targeting funding for social housing retrofits
- Continuing the Kids Go Free scheme on the region’s buses following success during the summer
Praise for tackling child poverty
Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said:
“While our recent economic growth is the best in the country, social mobility in parts of the West is among the worst. This means that children born here are less likely than others to ever escape poverty. That must change.
“Building on the government’s welcome decision to scrap the child benefit cap to lift 450,000 children out of poverty, our new regional action plan sets out what more we can do to help children and families – alongside our Growth Strategy to create 72,000 new jobs.
“Whether it’s Kids Go Free on our buses, widening access to childcare, or building more affordable and social homes, we are determined to make a real difference to people’s lives.
“Our regional action plan sets out how we can build a better future where every child can have the best possible start in life.”
Early Year Minister Olivia Bailey welcomed the announcement, calling the plan “a brilliant example” of how regional authorities can complement national strategy in combating child poverty.
Meanwhile, anti-poverty campaigner and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: “The West of England’s child poverty action plan is the first of its kind and follows on from Helen Godwin’s successful campaign to highlight the needs of children in poverty. Helen deserves widespread support for her leadership, and compassion towards the children in her region, as she introduces these very welcome, new policies.”
Existing measures
Children in the region have already begun to reap the benefits of some initiatives, including the rollout of circa 4,000 new nursery places across the region that help enable working parents to access 30 hours of free government-funded childcare, potentially saving them up to £7,500 annually.
Kids Go Free, a scheme allowing children to ride buses without charge, saw over 910,000 free journeys last summer, reducing family transport costs and enabling parents to explore local attractions without as much financial burden.
Nationally, the child benefit cap was scrapped in last month’s budget, aiming to lift 450,000 children out of poverty. Families in the West can expect to benefit by a combined £23 million a year under the policy change.
The regional child poverty action plan also aligns with the West’s ten-year Growth Strategy, which promises 72,000 new jobs for the area and aims to use a “proudly interventionist approach” to improve social mobility across local communities.