Save the children’s response to Browns pre-budget report

Although welcoming some aspects of today's pre-budget report, Save the Children has described it 'a missed opportunity'.

Colette Marshall, UK Director of Save the Children, said: “While the announcement of extra child benefit to pregnant women, monitoring of the minimum wage, and greater investment in education is welcome, it is not enough.

"There are few chances left for the Chancellor to act decisively to meet the target of halving child poverty by 2010.

"The time for rhetoric is over, we need to start hearing how the Government is going to target the poorest families - whether through making child benefit equal for all children, introducing seasonal grants to help poor families at the most difficult times of year or helping low income families with their fuel bills.

"It is only through major, practical steps like these that the Government will stand a hope in achieving its ambition of ending child poverty."

As a member of the campaign to End Child Poverty Save the Children believes the Chancellor must invest a further £4 billion to halve child poverty by 2010.

Find out more at www.savethechildren.org.uk/endchildpoverty

A million UK children missing out

Save the children wants you to write to your MP

CAMPAIGN TO END CHILD POVERTY IN THE UK

The UK has one of the worst rates of child poverty in the industrialised world.

We are calling for more realistic resources for the poorest children in the UK. Find out more

A million children in the UK are growing up in severe poverty. It's unfair, unjust and damaging their lives.

Please write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Chief Secretary to the Treasury asking them to lift the UK's poorest children out of poverty by:

• - Introducing seasonal grants in winter and summer holidays when low-income families struggle the most
  
• - In the run up to the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007, investing an extra 0.3% of GDP to be spent on ending severe child poverty.