Agenda item

Councillor Marlow presented his motion on notice. He said that there were 3.4 million children in poverty in the UK with 1 in 11 in poverty in Hertfordshire and 1 in 20 in East Hertfordshire. He said this showed a complete failure of the system and society and he was asking Council to write to the Chancellor and Prime Minister to remove the two-child limit on benefits, reinstate the £20 uplift and pay that uplift to parents under 25.

Councillor Copley seconded the motion and reserved her right to speak.

Councillor Redfern said that she did not oppose the motion but highlighted that the 2015 start date was misleading. She said that child poverty began to rise in 2010.

Councillor Wilson said that parents and families in his ward were struggling financially, and it was not a case of just getting a better job. He said in these circumstances, the state should be helping, and it was not the fault of the children. He said the gap between the rich and the poor was growing and there were frustrated and disempowered people out there losing faith in mainstream politics.

Councillor Carter supported the motion and said that the majority of children of families in poverty were working. She said the cost of living was really high and the motion called for a solution that could improve lives of children and invest in their future.

Councillor Parsad-Wyatt said some of the statistics on child poverty were eye opening. He said that he supported the motion in principle, but he would have to abstain as he felt the motion did not ask this council to do anything except write a letter. He said getting the funding to provide this extra money could have unintended consequences and said he would like to see a motion brought forward about what the council can be doing as a district.

Councillor Buckmaster said that the motion meant well but he was concerned about the aims. He said that two-thirds of the county’s proportion of council tax went on social care, a quarter on children’s services. He said that all governments did not provide enough money and the county council was subsidising Special Educational Needs on behalf of the government. He thought that a working group would be the best mechanism to come up with some measures to help alleviate child poverty.

Councillor Crystall said that the working group suggestion was a good one. He said that he was happy to write a letter and highlighted that the Executive had been determined not to cut the Citizens Advice funding.

Councillor Clements said he would be abstaining for similar reasons. He said that the government had its own limitations and the one of the first things they did after the election was set up a task force for tackling child poverty. He did not think that a letter would encourage the government to do more than what was already happening.

Councillor Daar said that the council had given grants out for summer holiday activity clubs and put on Arts in East Herts which were some examples of what the council was already doing.

Councillor Smith said she was a teacher and so the issue was close to her heart. She felt it was short sighted to not put children first and that there were always competing needs. She thought the idea of a working group was great and said she would be happy to support setting it up.

Councillor Dumont said that serious issues had been raised and said that the council did not have the same mechanism as the government, such as raising taxes, to help solve this problem. He felt it was disappointing that the chamber seemed to agree with the motion but that some were choosing to abstain on technicalities.

Councillor Hart said that the Labour government had previously said they would remove the two-child benefit cap. She felt that the council should be holding central government to account for promises they make or break. She said she supported the sentiment of the motion.

Councillor Copley said that funding for children was the most important thing. She urged the Council to come together and send a clear message to the government as well as looking at how to improve lives through a working group. She felt that abstaining on technicalities was ludicrous and said the Council owed it to children in this situation to do something.

Councillor Deering said that he presented the 2025/26 budget to Herts County Council in his role as a county councillor and said they were committing £290 million to children’s services. He said that no one here was not supporting children but as a district council, he would like to see some reference to what the district could do. He said he would be abstaining but would be supportive of a working group.

Councillor Marlow responded to the points raised. He said that the motion was not saying the government was not doing anything but that it could do better. He urged Members to vote for the motion to let the government know where the council stood.

Having been proposed and seconded, the motion was put to the meeting and upon a vote being taken, was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED - This Council notes that there has been a sharp rise in the number of children living in poverty in this country since the year 2015. There are now 4.3 million children growing up in poverty, and many of them are living in households where at least one parent is working. This Council notes a report from Dr Barnardo’s Charity which shows that 1 in every 11 children living in Hertfordshire is now living in poverty, and in East Hertfordshire it is 1 in 20 children.

Figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in March 2023 for East Hertfordshire showed that 1,958 children under the age of 16 were living in poverty.

This Council further notes that the Child Poverty Action Group has several suggestions for reducing Child Poverty. One is to provide adequate social security, and to raise the level of Universal Credit for parents under the age of 25. (They currently receive less than those who are over the age of 25.) Another is to remove the Two Child limit, as Child Poverty is higher in larger families.

This Council therefore resolves to write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and to the Prime Minister and ask that they take urgent steps to a) remove the Two Child limit on payment of all social security benefits, b) to reinstate the uplift of £20 in Universal Credit and c) to pay this uplift to parents under the age of 25 as well as those over the age of 25.