By Leela Ramdeen, Chair of the Catholic Commission for Social Justice
I return to T&T from London this week. Recent research (Jan 26) by the UK Charity, Save the Children, shows that the number of UK children living in homes in which there is “severe poverty” rose by 260,000 to 1.7 million from 2004 – 2008, that is, in the four years before the UK recession.
Although the UK is now emerging from the recession, the report warns that severe poverty could rise further. The UK was among 189 countries that adopted the Millennium Declaration at the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000. The UK pledged to halve child poverty by 2010 from 3.4 million in 1998/99 and to end it completely by 2020.
The poverty line in the UK is set at £235 per week. BBC News reports that, “the government defines relative low-income poverty as less than 60% of contemporary household median income, and absolute low-income poverty as less than 60% of 1998/99 median household income. However, Save the Children defines severe poverty as those living in households with incomes of less than 50% of the UK median income (disregarding housing costs) and who were also missing some basic possessions, such as a winter coat.
“The charity claims that at the end of 2008, 13% of the UK’s children were living in severe poverty, up two percentage points on 2004 – and that not only have efforts to reduce child poverty stalled, they have gone into reverse. The report predicts the recession is likely to have increased severe poverty by a further 100,000 children, but that benefit payments and tax credits would have brought numbers back down to pre-recession figures.
“The story varies across the UK. In Northern Ireland, 8% of children are extremely poor. In Scotland it is 9% while in England and Wales it is 13% – a figure pushed up by the situation in London where 19% of youngsters live in severe poverty.
“Work and Pensions Minister Helen Goodman said: ‘Without measures such as tax credits, employment help and the Sure Start programme, it is likely around 2 million more children would still be in poverty today…. But there is still much more to do.”
What progress are we making in T&T to achieve the Millennium Development Goals – particularly as they relate to children? Poverty is a key at-risk factor that can affect the life chances of our children. Principals and teachers must develop their awareness of the adverse effects that poverty/social exclusion can have on the teaching and learning process – e.g. is unjustified teacher absenteeism higher in schools in which there are high proportions of children whose families are poor?
Although we can all name individuals who have achieved great heights in spite of the fact that they grew up in poverty, our aim must be to create conditions that will enable our children to achieve their potential without having to experience the debilitating effects of social exclusion – of which poverty is one aspect.
Research for the UK Campaign to End Child Poverty has found that “the extent to which poverty and disadvantage remain in some families from one generation to the next is heavily influenced by education, or the lack of it.”
During 2010 our Archdiocese will be focusing on the theme: Catholic families, become what you are. Our families can only become what they “are” if we reach out and empower those who feel the brunt of poverty/social exclusion – regardless of their religious persuasion/belief. To promote authentic human development we must invest more in our human capital – our greatest assets.
But, as David Piachaud rightly said: “Concentrating predominantly on human capital without considering the distribution of financial, physical and social capital seems unlikely to end poverty and social exclusion.” (Capital and the Determinants of Poverty and Social Exclusion, David Piachaud, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, London School of Economics).
Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will guide us as we seek to build the civilisation of love.
