I refer to Sir John Hayes’ letter in The Voice on November 11 headed ‘No Child Should Go Hungry’.
It was a detailed response, paraphrasing much of the Government’s response to the ‘Rashford’ petition, of which I was a signatory.
Although I wish to make comment on one of Sir John’s points this is in no way to minimise just how difficult it has been for the Government to balance the needs of the economy, the ability of the NHS to cope with the most serious cases of COVID-19, and our individual general wellbeing.
The reasons for poverty are complex and are not a ‘lifestyle’ choice as some on the right of our political system would have us believe.
In fact being in work does not guarantee a route out of poverty in the UK. Two-thirds (67 percent) of children growing up in poverty live in families where at least one member is in employment (Households below average Income, an analysis of income distribution 1994/95-2016/17: Department of Work and Pensions 2018).
According to ‘End Child Poverty Now’ ( http://www.endchildpoverty.org.uk) families can move into poverty for many reasons such as rise in living costs, a drop in earnings through job loss or benefit changes. It is the last of these I wish to focus upon.
Sir John is keen to point out that he supported an increase in the basic element of Working Tax Credit from April 2020 to April 2021; clearly this is to be welcomed. However, his voting record in The House Of Commons on Welfare and Benefits matters between 2012 and 2016 was less than helpful to the most vulnerable in our society.
During this time Sir John consistently (some 50 times in fact) voted for a reduction in welfare benefits ( http://www.theyworkforyou.com).
For more details of the impact such decisions had on children over roughly the same period I refer your readers to ‘Short Changed: the true cost of cuts to children’s benefits’ ( http://www.endchildpoverty.org.uk/short-changed), sadly just no room to list them in this letter.
Between 2011 and 2016 he also consistently voted against paying higher benefits over longer periods for those unable to work due to illness or disability and consistently voted against welfare benefits increasing in line with prices during 2013 (Source: They Work for You).
So, while I cautiously welcome Sir John’s new found commitment to a ‘sustainable, effective welfare system’ to ensure ‘no family will go hungry’, we need more than that. I would like him to go further and commit to a programme that raises all of our children (and by definition families) out of poverty within the foreseeable future.
John Reynolds
Weston
