Anna Feuchtwang, Chief Executive of the National Children’s Bureau, said:
“The Chancellor has rightly directed some of the spending in the next 12-months toward children and families. In particular, measures to improve schools, colleges and apprenticeships may enable young people to look to the future with a little more hope.
“But there are persistent omissions too. The wider social catastrophe that the pandemic could leave in its wake can only be averted by properly levelling up council budgets so that children’s services can reach out to children, young people and families before their problems become emergencies.
“Similarly, the Government still seems unable to grasp that child poverty is out of control. There are over four million children in the UK growing up in families who can barely afford the basic necessities and working families are far from immune.”
“We need a fundamental re-think of what support this generation of children and young people need, and we must start by asking them what that is. Only by working in partnership with children and young people can we begin to repair the damage and prevent the pandemic from causing long-term harm to their futures.”
NOTE:
The image of Parliament is copyright UK Parliament / Jessica Taylor