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Rennie: Ministers cannot blame child poverty failings on recession
December 8, 2009 1:00 PM
West Fife MP Willie Rennie has slammed the Government's child poverty reduction record after a new report published today revealed that the number of children living in low income households now stands at 2.1 million, the highest it has ever been.
This figure has increased by half a million since 2003/4, with a significant proportion of this rise predating the economic downturn and recession. After the 2009 Budget, independent analysts suggested that the Government would miss their interim target of halving child poverty before the end of 2010/11 by 600,000 children.
The new report also showed that unemployment has been rising since 2005, with the number of people unemployed or seeking work the highest it has been since 1997.
Commenting, Mr Rennie said:
'This report makes it clear that the Prime Minister had lost control of the economy long before the beginning of the financial crisis.
'Ministers can no longer use the recession to justify their failure to meet Government targets on child poverty reduction. It is now apparent that securing progress on this vital issue will require not only a recovery from the effects of the economic downturn, but also action to address the underlying problems that were growing before the crisis began.
'Despite a series of high-profile announcements and plans for new legislation these statistics reveal that in reality, Government efforts to reduce child poverty in West Fife have been little more than hot air.'
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