Child poverty will be made worse by council funding cuts, warns TUC

date: 19 February 2013

embargo: 00:01 hours Wednesday 20 February 2013

Commenting on research published today (Wednesday) by the Child Poverty Action Group, which shows the parliamentary areas with the highest proportion of children living in poverty, TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady said:

'Many of the hardest hit areas identified in this report are facing huge reductions in local authority funding as result of government spending cuts. This will put vital support services for vulnerable children under tremendous strain.

'Unless the government pulls back from these austerity measures, child poverty will become even more entrenched in already deprived parts of the country.

'Countless studies have shown that children who grow-up in poverty are far less likely to do well at school or find long-term employment. The UK simply cannot afford for any more of its youngsters to be consigned to the scrapheap of inactivity.'

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