Trudi Davies
The Politics Show South East |
 |  Children are 20% of the population but 100% of the future |
In March 1999 Tony Blair declared: "Our historic aim will be for ours to be the first generation to end child poverty forever, and it will take a generation.
"It's a 20 year mission but I believe it can be done."
He then justified his commitment to end child poverty by quoting the Chancellor: "Children are 20% of the population but 100% of the future."
It was a huge aspiration and, so confident was Mr Blair of achieving it, that he firmed up his timescale pledging that 2020 would be the year in which child poverty would be consigned to history.
On the way, the government committed itself to cutting the figures by a quarter by 2004/5 and halving them by 2010.
Of course one of the problems of offering targets and timescales is that people have an irritating habit of calling you to account.
The verdict so far? Good, but could do better.
Missed targets
 Flats can be the harbinger of poverty |
The charities and organisations working with people in poverty say that they appreciate the fact that the government are taking the issue seriously.
But, they claim that the 2004/5 target was missed by some 7% and that the 700,000 children raised out of the poverty trap so far is a long way short of eradication.
Save the Children claim that 3.4million children are still living in families with incomes defined below the poverty level and, they say the government's current policy for dealing with them will ensure that they will miss their 2010 and 2020 deadlines by a long way.
In the South East, we have the usual mixed picture.
We may appear to have more disposable income than many other parts of the country, but it is a region of extreme contrasts.
Nationally, 27% of children live on low incomes, in the South East, the average is 21%.
But the Joseph Rowntree Foundation lists 12 wards where the percentage of children on benefits is at least twice the national average.
In parts of Hastings, 50% of children are living in poverty and areas of Ashford, Thanet, Brighton and Canterbury are not far behind.
| Local authority | | Ward | | % of children living in families with out of work benefits (National average = 21%) |
| Ashford | | Stanhope | | 45.0 |
| Brighton and Hove | | East Brighton | | 47.9 |
| Brighton and Hove | | Moulsecoomb and Bevendean | | 41.8 |
| Canterbury | | Northgate | | 45.6 |
| Hastings | | Central St Leonards | | 50.3 |
| Hastings | | Hollington | | 44.1 |
| Swale | | Sheerness West | | 43.5 |
| Thanet | | Newington | | 42.4 |
| Thanet | | Dane Valley | | 42.1 |
In our region, the average wage, at the last census, was �470 per week, higher than the national average.
Targets at a cost
To fall into the poverty catchment, children in the South East need to be living in families whose average income is less than �280 per week.
The political argument is not about how many children are affected, but the methods used to lift them out.
The Rowntree Foundation says that the government could meet its 2010 target but it would cost.
They estimate that if spending on benefits and tax credits was increased by �4bn a year, then Tony Blair would be on course to meet the target.
However, getting the second half of children out of poverty by 2020 will be far harder.
Relying solely on tax credits and benefits would prove prohibitively expensive.
So what is the answer?
Redistribution of wealth, improved pay and work opportunities, an improved benefit system and better childcare - all these are cited by the Rowntree study as the rungs of the ladder that will lead families out of the poverty trap.
Thanet South includes Newington - an area in which 42% of children live on benefits.
Positive MP
| Children and people with families are better off thanks to children's tax credits and record increases in child benefits |
Steve Ladyman is the area's MP and a Government Minister, he is upbeat about the prospects.
Writing for the Isle of Thanet Gazette in December last year Mr Ladyman states: "Things have been getting better for almost everyone in Thanet. The number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance in my South Thanet constituency alone has fallen from 2,899 in May 1997 when I became the MP to 1,258...
"Children and people with families are better off thanks to children's tax credits and record increases in child benefits".
Paul Siegert will be meeting two families who live in Thanet to ask them whether this optimism is well founded.
Life's a struggle
One of them, Kimberley Ochs, lives in Dane Valley, one of the poorest wards in the country.
She lives in a two bedroom council flat, and as a single working mother, is struggling to make ends meet.
 For many teenagers, even mobile phones are out of reach |
She works at the Sure Start nursery, for three hours, five times a week and from this she earns �300 a month. She spends �54 a week on childcare.
When it came to kitting out her flat she said that the property was not in a great way, with no carpets and few furnishings.
The council gave her �80 to sort it out, which didn't go very far. A lady down the road had a sofa in her garden which she happily took to have something sit on!
Steve Ladyman will be live on the programme this week along with Greg Clark MP, the Conservative charged by David Cameron with overhauling the party's approach to poverty.
As a member of a party that oversaw one of the largest increases in child poverty figures in the industrialised world - figures tripled between the years 1979 -1995 - he is in need of a strong policy.
Toynbee v Churchill
| It is the social commentator Polly Toynbee who supplies imagery that is more appropriate for Conservative social policy in the 21st Century |
He has famously urged the Conservatives to look more towards the Guardian commentator Polly Toynbee for its policy reforms and less at the Churchillian stance of old.
"The traditional Conservative vision of welfare as a safety net encompasses another outdated Tory nostrum - that poverty is absolute, not relative.
"Churchill's safety net is at the bottom: holding people at subsistence level, just above the abyss of hunger and homelessness. It is the social commentator Polly Toynbee who supplies imagery that is more appropriate for Conservative social policy in the 21st Century".
They will be joined by Kate Green, Chief Executive of the Child Poverty Action Group who deals with families in poverty on a daily basis.
Benefits, tax credits, fair pay, education? What is the way out of poverty?
We would like to include as many of your views as possible so: Text us on 07786 209252 or email us via the e-mail form below.
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And once again this week don't forget to VOTE on our topical issue.
Last week we asked: "Do you think that you get value for money from your council"?The results are in!
21.05% of you voted Yes
78.95% voted No
SHOULD THE SCHOOL LEAVING AGE BE RAISED TO 18? Yes  60.94% No  39.06% Results are indicative and may not reflect public opinion |
Don't forget to VOTE... Just a click of the mouse will register your vote on our new, unscientific, but interesting, test of the region's opinions vote now...
We'll let you know the result next week.
We will be looking at council tax in the near future when the new rates are announced - watch this space!
School leaving age...
 These kids might see an extra two years at the other end of their education |
The Department for Education and Skills aims to raise the school leaving age in England by 2013 for the first time since 1972.
Pupils will not have to stay in a classroom until they are 18, but they will have to sign up for vocational training - either on a course or in a workplace.
Is this the best way to catch the increasing numbers of children classed as Neets - not in education, employment or training?
We will be out this week canvassing the opinion of the people of Broadstairs, so please add your opinion by clicking the mouse.
In the papers...
Melody Ryall, group editor of The Kentish Times is with us for a look at some of the other stories making the news in our region this week.
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