Fairness for Families:
Tackling child poverty in Islington
Islington’s Child Poverty Strategy
March 2014
Fairness for Families
Islington’s Child Poverty Strategy 2013-16
Introduction
Islington is a vibrant and diverse borough situated within the heart of London. Its location, adjacent to the City and close to the West End, provides easy access to a wide range of employment, educational and cultural activities. There are a number of transport hubs providing good access to all parts of London and the southeast.
Despite the recession, the local and wider London economies remain relatively strong, and there continue to be jobs available in all key sectors across London and at all levels – from basic, entry level jobs through to senior management.
Islington itself has a number of thriving industries, retail centres, and a busy and popular late night economy. We are home to a significant number of arts organisations, many of national importance, and to a strong voluntary and community sector.
Our schools have seen continual improvement, with 91% of schools now rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted. This has been reflected in year on year improvements in educational attainment – both at GCSE and A Level. We are also fortunate to be home to City and Islington College, a topLondon college and one of the largest and most successful providers of further education in the country.
However, in spite of all these benefits, Islington has a high proportion of children and families living in poverty. In fact, according to latest official data we have the second highest rate of child poverty in the country.
This strategy sets outhow we will work together with our partners, in the statutory sector, voluntary and community sector, and with local employers, to tackle child poverty in Islington and ensure that our children and families are able to benefit from the wide number of opportunities Islington has to offer.
The aim of this Strategy
The aim of this Child Poverty Strategy is to set out our approach to tackling the high levels of child poverty in Islington.
It pulls together, into one single document, the range of policies, programmes and interventions we are pursuing – across the Council and with our partners – aimed at mitigating the impacts of poverty on families, and tackling the root causes which are preventing families from moving out of poverty.
We are not starting from scratch. Tackling poverty and inequality in Islington, particularly the challenges faced by children and families, hasbeen at the very heart of our commitment to promoting ‘A Fairer Islington’.
This Child Poverty Strategy has been based on our understanding of the nature of child poverty in Islington.
Our Child Poverty Needs Assessment has provided us with a clear understanding of the numbers of children in poverty, the characteristics of those families most at risk,the barriers they face, and the other issues associated with poverty which we will also need to address to help improve the lives of families in poverty.
We have also been able to build upon our experience of what works gained from pilots such as a government Child Poverty Innovation Pilot, which tested out how to support parents to become more ‘job ready’ and a CommunityBudget Pilot, bringing together partners and services who worked with families to provide holistic support for families facing multiple disadvantages.
The Strategy reinforces our existing approach, setting out under clear logical priorities the headline polices and types of activity we will undertake with our partners to tackle the wide range of issues associated with child poverty.
It does not list in detail the various projects, services and interventions that will contribute towards delivery of the strategy – these are set out elsewhere in other strategies and action plans.
However, examples of some of the measures we have put in place to translate the strategy into practical support include: Free School Meals for all Islington primary school children; childcare bursaries to help parents meet initial childcare costs as they move back into work; student bursariesto enable young people in low income families to remain in education; a parental employment partnership (working with Jobcentre Plus) to build the skills and confidence of parents who are currently not working and support them back into work; and a dedicated team which engages with local employers and sources jobs and apprenticeships for local out of work residents, particularly young people and parents.
Child poverty - the national context
The UK as a whole is marked by high levels of relative poverty compared with other advanced European nations. These high levels of poverty and income inequality are linked to a range of poorer outcomes for both parents and children.
The Child Poverty Act (2010) commits the Secretary of State to four targets to eradicate child poverty by 2020 and to minimise socio-economic disadvantage. The current national targets are that by 2020:
- Less than 10% of children will be in relative poverty
- Less than 5% of children will be in absolute low income
- Less than 5% of children will experience material poverty
The Act also requires the government to produce a strategy every three years for reaching these goals. In April 2011, the Coalition Government published the national child poverty strategy –‘New Approach to Child Poverty’. The government strategy has five overarching principles: strengthening families, encouraging responsibility, promoting work, guaranteeing fairness and providing support to the most vulnerable.
Welfare reform is central to both strategies and is a key government policy for tackling poverty. Early intervention is also a vital component. This draws on Frank Field’s Independent Review of child poverty which recommended an increased emphasis on providing high quality, integrated front-line services, aimed at supporting parents and promoting the development of the poorest children.
Until recently, rates of child poverty were declining, but the economic downturn and the impact of welfare reforms are likely to have stalled, if not worsened, the position.
Data for 2011-12 indicated that 20% (or 2.6 million) of children across the UK were living in households below 60% median income, before housing costs (BHC) and 29% (3.8 million) after housing costs (AHC). Latest research from the Institute of Fiscal Studies estimates that, under current policies, over a million more children are expected to be in poverty in 2020 than in 2010.
Defining child poverty
In the UK, as across the rest of Europe, we refer to ‘relative’ poverty – whether people have the income and resources to provide basic needs and to take part in everyday life.
Relative poverty is measured in relation to a minimum income threshold or ‘poverty line’ - set at 60% of the median income. Median income is the middle value between the highest and the lowest incomes in the country (this can be before or after housing costs).
In the UK the poverty line (or 60% median income) equates to:
- Couple with 2 children:
£357 (after housing costs)
- Lone parent with 2 children:
£264 (after housing costs)
Anyone whose income is below 60% median is said to be in poverty.
NB: median income varies from country to country, and from year to year. The figures above represent the currently poverty line in the UK.
Child Poverty in Islington
The Child Poverty Act 2010 conveys a number of duties upon local authorities including the requirement to undertake a needs assessment to understand the nature and scale of child poverty in their area.
It also requires us to prepare and consult upon a joint child poverty strategy, setting out the measures that we will take to reduce and mitigate the effects of child poverty in the local area as identified through the needs assessment.
Our Child Poverty Needs Assessment, produced in 2010 and updated in August 2013, provides a detailed picture of child poverty in Islington. Key findings and recommendations are as follows:
Scale of the problem
Islington has the second highest rate of child poverty in the country (Tower Hamletshas the highest)
A significant proportion of Islington’s children aged 0-19 are living in poverty – we estimate between 35-45% based on available data - this equates to around 15,000 to 17,000 children
Around half of these are living in severe poverty – well below the poverty line
86% of children in poverty are in workless households
The chart below compares Islington to other Inner London boroughs and to the England average, based on official HMRC figures for 2010
Who is most affected?
Households over-represented in local child poverty figures are those:
Headed by a lone parent
With three or more children
With a disabled family member
Black and minority ethnic (BME) groups, particularly Black Africans
Living in overcrowded accommodation
Living in rented social housing
Distribution of child poverty in Islington
Poverty is widespread across the borough with no clear spatial pattern
There is a strong correlation between those in poverty and those living in social housing
The widespread prevalence of poverty across Islington reflects the pattern of social housing, with relatively high numbers of council owned street properties as well as estate-based council owned properties
The map below shows households in receipt of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support to demonstrate the widespread distribution of poverty
Some wards have higher rates of child poverty than others, but all areas are high
Source: HMRC, ‘Personal Tax Credits: related statistics – child poverty statistics’ 2008, 2009 and 2010
The costs of bringing up a child
The rapidly rising cost of living combined with freezes / reductions in wages and benefits means that the cost of bringing up a child is likely to exceed family incomes – particularly for those in social housing, lone parents and larger families
Recent research by the Child Poverty Action Group found that it cost a minimum of £148,000 in total - around £160 per week - to bring up a child to age 18 and meet its minimum needs
Minimum wage families faced a growing shortfall for the spending their children need. Families on out of work benefits faced even greater shortfalls - couple families received only 58% of the income required to cover minimum costs, whilst lone parents got 61%
The impact of welfare reform
For most of Islington’s residents in poverty, household income to meet both living costs and priority bills (such as rent and council tax) derives, either wholly or partly, from benefits or tax credits. Households in poverty are, therefore, particularly vulnerable to changes in welfare policy, basic commodity inflation and changes to social housing provision
Islington has a large proportion of residents claiming out of work benefits – some will be affected more than others. Families, particularly larger families, will suffer the most
Some households, who are already on low income, will be hit more than once through cuts to both housing-related and non-housing benefits. The benefit cap, which has been set at a universal level across the country, with no regard for higher housing costs in London, will make it difficult and even impossible for some families to continue to live in Islington. Some may choose to move but those who remain will face choices between paying their rent, moving to a home far too small for their needs, feeding their family and heating their home
Disabled people are likely to be hit very hard – and we have a large proportion of disabled people in Islington. The 2011 Census confirmed that 4,260 of the 20,950 (20%) Islington households with child dependants have at least one adult with a long-term illness or disability – the second-highest proportion in London. Replacing Disability Living Allowance (designed to meet the actual costs of living with a disability) with the Personal Independence Payment is aimed at cutting the cost by 20%. However, disabled people are more likely to be workless, so may have other benefits cut as well
The overall impact of welfare reform on child poverty is difficult to predict. However, the changes (ranging from the Household Benefit Cap, to reforms to disability benefits, to freezing annual inflation-based increases in the value of benefits) will reduce incomes for many workless families, especially those unable to move into work. This could entrench existing relative poverty and also increase levels of absolute and severe poverty
Needs Assessment: recommendations
Based on its findings, the Child Poverty Needs Assessment made the following recommendations.
Children in poverty are largely living in workless households. Efforts to tackle child poverty will therefore need to focus on supporting parents into work. We need to help parents find work that pays – but as parents move into work, we will need to review the position to ensure that poverty has not simply moved from workless to in work families
However, work alone will not eradicate child poverty – we need to tackle the underlying causes and factors associated with child poverty – early years, health, education and skills, engagement in crime – if we are to break the cycle of poverty
Although poverty is widespread, efforts targeted at social housing estates would allow us to reach more families in poverty
We need to address the barriers faced by those families who are over-represented in child poverty figures – low skills and poor English, lack of affordable and flexible childcare, caring needs for family members and mental and physical health issues
With the squeeze on family budgets, we need to explore measures to build financial capability and access affordable finance to help meet the rising costs of living. This could include support to avoid fuel poverty, food poverty and potential homelessness, together with financial support at pressure / transition points or times of crisis
Tackling child poverty – the priorities
Based on the findings in our Needs Assessment, and on our evidence of what works, we have identified four high level priorities. Our strategy for tackling child poverty in Islington will focus upon:
Supportingparents into sustainable employment
With evidence showing that those most likely to be in poverty are those who are not working, we will promote employment as the best route out of poverty. To do this we will also need to tackle the barriers that prevent people gaining and retainingemployment – lack of skills or work experience, language barriers, lack of affordable childcare.
Supporting families to be financially resilient
We will support families to cope with budget pressures and work towards financial independence.Supporting people into employment may take some time and even once in work, families on low incomes may struggle. We will continue our fight to ensure that work pays – to avoid shifting poverty from out of work poor to in work poor. But employment is not an option for everyone. We need to help familieswho will continue to live on low incomes, including those who are unable to work due to ill health, disability or caring responsibilities.
Tackling the immediate impacts of poverty
We need to help mitigate the immediate consequences of poverty and ensure families have access to the basics – a home, food and warmth. Whilst supporting families to move out of poverty is our ultimate goal, we need to do what we can to reduce the short-term challenges faced by families who are currentlyliving in poverty. This will include efforts to tackle food poverty, fuel poverty, poor housing, overcrowding, and poor health.
Improving life chances for children
We need to improve outcomes for children and young people if we are to break the cycle of poverty and prevent poor children becoming poor adults. We need to give children the best start in life and support those families who face multiple disadvantages to pursue the best outcomes for their children.Improving attendance at school, educational attainment and pathways from education into employment will be a focus of our work, to reduce youth unemployment and break the cycle of poverty for as many families as we can.
Child Poverty Strategy: underpinning principlesOur overall approach to tackling child poverty, and to developing our priorities and interventions,is based upon the following principles
Child poverty should be everyone’s business – the scale of the problem is such that no single organisation can tackle it in isolation – we need tocoordinate work effectively with all statutory, voluntary and business sector partners to ensure that services are joined-up
For most people, employment will be the best route out of poverty – our priority will be to support parents and young people into work
We mustexpect more from our schoolsand pupils– we are doing well but we must be more challenging. We must support more of our children to be high achievers
Ensuring the best start in life means attending school every day- we will work with parents and schools to prioritise attendance
Parents need to be part of the solution – we need to empower and support parents and carers to improve outcomes for themselves and their families
A Think Family approach is essential – we cannot address individual problems within a family in isolation. We will need to ensure services work together to provide integrated and holistic support to address the wider issues and barriers faced by families most in need
Targeted and tailored interventions should be aimed at thosefamilies facing multiple barriers and disadvantage
PRIORITY 1:
Support peopleinto sustainable employment
Child poverty in Islington is largely associated with workless households. 86% (13,545) of children living in poverty are in workless households and only 14% (2,200) are in low income working households.