Child Poverty (Hansard, 24 October 1994)

§ 5. Dr. Lynne Jones
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what measures he is taking to alleviate child poverty.

§ Mr. Burt
Extra help worth more than £1 billion in the current year has been directed through the social security system toward low-income families with children. The new child care disregard will benefit about 150,000 families, and through that and other improvements to family credit we are helping more than 500,000 families to be better off in work.

§ Dr. Jones
Does the Minister realise that while Tory Members have been dining at the Ritz, the number of children growing up in poverty has been increasing dramatically, with one in four now growing up in families for whom even an 1876 workhouse diet is too expensive? For the sake of those children and for the rest of us who are increasingly affected by divisions in society, is not it time that the Government got to grips with the magnitude of the problem?

§ Mr. Burt
I am sure that the House is aware that, since 1979, average income has risen by 36 per cent. It is common sense to understand that unemployment levels over the years have affected the figures for those on the lowest incomes—we know that. Therefore, the best way for the Government to proceed is through increasing opportunities for employment. That is why our unemployment rate is going down in comparison with the rate in the European Community, where it is going up. That is also why the unemployed have been protected. The hon. Lady might care to know that a couple on unemployment benefit with two children are now 24 per cent. better off in real terms than they would have been under the equivalent benefit under the previous Labour Government. If the hon. Lady supports the idea of a minimum wage, she should be aware that it is calculated to make poor families still poorer as fathers lose their jobs.

§ Mr. Peter Bottomley
Does my hon. Friend accept that the child additions for those on income support and the new arrangements to help those caring for children to get back to work will be welcomed by hon. Members on both sides of the House? Will he continue to ensure that the House is aware of the figures which illustrate that those who are, sadly, out of work or dependent on income benefit are sharing in the increased standard of living? Will he ensure that our policies are directed not only at getting more people back to work but at continuing to protect those at the bottom of the heap?

§ Mr. Burt
Yes, my hon. Friend makes a valid point. As I said a moment ago, the benefit system has tried to protect those who still find themselves unemployed. I gave the comparison of unemployment benefit rates for a couple with two children which shows how that is done. The crucial point is to help people back into work. Other parties do not have a monopoly on that particular aspect of social welfare. For some years, the Government have seen the welfare system as an opportunity to move people back into work—we will hear more about that today—but the family credit system has been uniquely successful in ensuring that 618 that happens. That is contributing in no small way to the improvement in living conditions for many low-paid families.