In a show of unity, 35 senior faith leaders from across the UK have appealed to the federal government to take a “daring, and impressive” approach in its upcoming Child Poverty Strategy.
The call was made in an open letter to education secretary Bridget Philipson and work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall, who’re the co-chairs of the Ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce.
The letter is backed by representatives of the six dominant religions within the UK, including Rt Rev John Arnold, the Bishop of Salford; Rowan Williams, the previous Archbishop of Canterbury; Bea Hulme, Youth President of the Methodist Church in Britain; Nicola Brady, General Secretary for Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, and other leaders from Jewish, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim communities.
Together they warn that without decisive motion, “an extra 400,000 children” could “be pulled into poverty over the subsequent decade”.
“We welcome the federal government’s acknowledgement in its manifesto that the UK’s increasing levels of kid poverty and reliance on emergency food are a ‘moral scar’ on our nation,” the letter reads.
“It is evident that this just isn’t a time for half measures. We have seen the challenges faced by our neighbours develop into harder and harder.
“We’ve also seen communities step up again and again to supply support through debt centres, food banks, food pantries and warm hubs, in addition to by simply providing welcoming spaces for many who need them.
“Millions are fed and supported because communities have risen to the challenge of ever-increasing poverty and hardship.”
According to research titled ‘Paying the Price’ by Action for Children, there are currently, 4.3 million children within the UK who live in poverty. An effective strategy could lift 1.2 million children out of poverty by the top of this decade, the letter states.
Recommendations include scrapping the two-child profit limit and the profit cap – which they estimate would free 600,000 children from poverty by 2030, although at a value of £3.9 billion annually.
They also urge “motion to reform and put money into a more practical social security system, and steps to spice up social housing and improve opportunities for income from employment”.
The President of the Methodist Conference, Rev Helen Cameron, said that government motion is overdue: “The levels of kid poverty we’re seeing in communities across the UK can’t be acceptable … We understand it is feasible to significantly reduce child poverty, and a social security system that permits families to afford the essentials might be a central pillar.
“The government must exhibit that tackling poverty is a priority and make ambitious decisions. We pray that the federal government’s strategy will rise to the challenges we face.”
Martyn Snow, the Bishop Leicester, echoed this sentiment: “Every child is a precious gift and will have the chance to flourish. Yet the scourge of poverty we see in our country today has profound implications on their health, wellbeing and life possibilities.
“Churches will proceed to play their part in supporting children and their families experiencing hardship, meeting need where we discover it, and advocating for policies which address structural challenges.
“An ambitious child poverty strategy would make a big difference within the communities we live in and amongst.”
Louise, a 24-year-old single mother and care leaver from London, who entered foster care at 11, said that achieving financial independence without family support often felt overwhelming.
As a mother, she was driven to offer her daughter higher opportunities but struggled with the pressure, counting on Universal Credit and falling into her overdraft despite working as much as possible to cover childcare costs.
“The impact of growing up in poverty is large. It affected me physically, mentally and emotionally. Not eating enough food as a toddler affects your health, weight and concentration. You feel offended and confused,” she said.
She continued, “Not eating enough as a toddler affects your health and your ability to learn. Now, although I work, I depend on Universal Credit simply to pay for childcare. That’s not right. Families like mine need real support to interrupt the cycle.
“A toddler can’t understand why they’re excluded from school trips with their friends, or why they don’t have recent clothes. You feel different. I felt like I used to be being punished. I didn’t understand we just didn’t have the cash.”
She added, “I believe there’s more support needed not only for young people leaving care, but in addition for families with young children on low incomes, to assist people stay in work, take care of their children and thrive.”
The faith leaders closed their letter with a plea, “While we come from different faith traditions, we share a belief that working to finish poverty must be an indicator of any decent, compassionate society. We also imagine that transformational change is feasible. We are hopeful that the Child Poverty Strategy could possibly be a turning point for the communities we serve, and we’re able to work in partnership with people of goodwill across society to be certain that every child has the beginning in life they deserve.”
