Child Poverty Action Group chief executive Alison Garnham writes exclusively for the Mirror.
The Government moved fast with financial help for the millions whose incomes were hit by Covid-19.
The self-employed and furlough schemes were hugely welcomed and the £20 per week uplift in Universal Credit made a huge difference to some hard up families, but others missed out on gaining from it because of the benefit cap – being unable to work because of the lockdown meant that they couldn’t earn enough to escape the cap.
But besides the extension of free school meal replacements over the summer there was nothing specifically for families with children – nothing that recognised the extra costs of raising kids.
So, as our survey shows, hard-pressed parents found that while their incomes were shrinking, costs were rising.
During lockdown children still needed meals and they carried on outgrowing clothes and shoes.
Most were worse off and half were much worse off than before the pandemic.
Debt and stress levels escalated.
Sadly, some parents blamed themselves for not having enough money to meet their children’s needs.
But if the pandemic has revealed anything it’s that our social security net has become too threadbare after years of cuts and freezes.
It’s no longer fit for the job of protecting us when times are tough.
Things are likely to get worse for hard-up households as Government support schemes wind down and unemployment grows.
People want a system that’s compassionate and robust and there when they need it.
Firstly, we should reinvest in child benefit – it’s a ready-made mechanism for getting money to families and the best way to protect children from poverty.
We should boost it by £10 a week and add the same to the child element in Universal Credit and Child Tax Credits.
Now is the time to act to protect children’s futures.
