Secretary of State puts Blackpool South on child poverty agenda

The Secretary of State for the DWP, Liz Kendall, has said Blackpool children will be “at the forefront of minister’s minds” as they set out to build an “ambitious child poverty strategy”. 

In the same week I met with the End Child Poverty Commission and committed to working closely with them, I also met the Secretary of State (23rd July) to discuss the problem in the town where almost half of children live in poverty. 

I told Liz about the reality of life for children in Blackpool, where I am a regular volunteer driver for Blackpool Food Bank. 

The Secretary of State said:

“I wanted to meet with Chris to talk about child poverty because I know he has hands on experience of what families and children are facing in Blackpool, which has some of the worst deprivation in the country. 

“Being from the town, and proactive on the problems at hand, he is one of many new Labour MPs who have a true understanding of their constituencies and the needs of residents.

“I was inspired by his commitment to fight for children in Blackpool South and they will be at the forefront of minister’s minds as we set out to build an ambitious child poverty strategy.

“We are working every day across government to reduce child poverty and give every child the best start in life.”

As well working to introduce free breakfast clubs in schools, this Labour government has formed a new unit in the Cabinet Office to begin immediate work on a Child Poverty Strategy. It will bring together experts from across government as well as external organisations to explore how the problem can be most effectively addressed.

Eight of the 10 most deprived neighbourhoods in England are in Blackpool, according to statistics published in 2019, while 41.5% of neighbourhoods are classed as highly deprived. 

Some 43.7% of children in Blackpool were living in poverty in 2022-23, up 11.6% since 2015. 

It’s easy to be blinded by statistics but we need to think about the 12,500 children who go without sufficient food, housing, clothes or their other basic needs met every day in Blackpool.

As a volunteer driver for Blackpool Food Bank I know what it’s like on the frontline of this crisis. For too long the third sector and charitable individuals have been desperately scrambling to fill the gap that the state has left wide open and allowed people to fall into. That can’t go on. 

After meeting with the Secretary of State I am confident that this government will put into place the most effective policy it can to tackle child poverty for children in Blackpool South and beyond.” 

Prior to my meeting with Liz, I met with the End Child Poverty Commission on 22nd July to discuss the urgent situation in Blackpool. This coalition is made up of over 80 organisations including child welfare groups, social justice groups, faith groups, trade unions and others who are dedicated to eradicating child poverty. 

Meeting with the ECPC manager Rachel Walters, we discussed the two-child benefit cap and how this has impacted child poverty, how narrowing the pay gap between older and younger workers can have a positive impact on children’s lives and how they can work to lift children in Blackpool out of poverty.

Rachel said: “It has been great to meet with Chris and hear just how important tackling child poverty is for him, both in Blackpool and around the UK. We are pleased to hear that Labour has announced a taskforce to tackle child poverty – and look forward to working with Chris to ensure this delivers real change for low-income families. This taskforce must start by scraping the two-child limit to benefit payments to lift children out of poverty.”

The two-child benefit cap was announced by the Conservatives in 2015 as part of David Cameron and George Osborne's austerity measures. It means that parents cannot claim child tax credit or Universal Credit payments for more than their first two children.  

The two-child benefit cap is punitive, ideological and cruel and I do not support keeping it. I trust that this Government will make the best decision on what measures to put in place to alleviate child poverty and I will be pushing to see that scrapping as soon as financially possible.