The Children’s Society responds to the Government’s new funding to tackle the cost of living crisis

Responding to the Government’s new funding to tackle the cost of living crisis Azmina Siddique, Policy and Impact Manager at The Children’s Society, said:   

“The money for households announced today will undoubtedly make a positive impact and ease some of the burden for those who are being hardest hit by energy price shocks. Shockingly, when the Chancellor listed the ‘most vulnerable’, children didn’t make the cut. 

“There was an opportunity here to provide targeted support to families with children – a third of whom were already in poverty before the cost of living crisis. Expanding free school meals to all children whose parents are on Universal Credit or a £10 increase to child benefit could have made a real difference.  

“Much of the support mentioned today was for one-off payments when we know that families need more sustainable support, and that the Household Support Fund should have long-term funding. The government must learn lessons from the pandemic and this new crisis and invest in a social security system that works for children and struggling families – instead of pulling them back from the brink of a financial emergency every time.”