ATL comment on potential Government plans to redefine child poverty

“With over 2.5 million children living in poverty in the UK, it’s a wonder David Cameron and his ministers can sleep at night, knowing that on their watch even more children will be living in poverty. While a new generation of children is getting used to foodbanks, the Government is tinkering with statistics.

“Children are coming into school hungry, parents are struggling to pay for school uniforms, but this Government would rather perpetuate the myth that poverty is due to unemployment, family breakdown, debt, drug and alcohol dependency. It conveniently forgets that most families in poverty have at least one parent in work.

“A civilised society is judged by the way it treats its most vulnerable citizens. This Government is blighting the lives of a generation of young people who are too hungry to learn and too cramped in poor quality housing to do their homework, so are likely to fail to achieve their true potential.”