Our response to the #SummerStatement: "The Chancellor’s focus on protecting jobs and supporting people into work is welcome and desperately needed in response to higher unemployment. Extra money for the flexible support fund is great news especially if it can be used...
"...more flexibly for up-front childcare costs, quality training and additional costs needed for job search, work clothing and fares. The existence of this support through the flexible support fund needs to be better publicised so claimants know there is help they can ask for...
"...But in addition the Chancellor needs to recognise that most children in poverty have a working parent so a job itself is not a guaranteed route out of poverty. Extra support with finding a job is welcome, but without more investment in universal credit to make work pay...
"...and in affordable childcare, many pandemic-hit parents will remain locked out of the labour market or in a job that keeps them poor. They certainly won’t be able to eat out to help out...
"...To get the UK back to work and to tackle child poverty, we need good jobs and the childcare services that enable parents to work too - 2nd earners are critical to help families escape in-work poverty...
"...It is disappointing that within a broad range of measures to support people during the immediate aftermath of lockdown and today that there is little that is targeted directly at struggling families...
"...Children need a Covid-19 bonus too – an increase of £10 a week in child benefit would go a long way to protecting families during a period of huge uncertainty and reduce child poverty.” [ends]
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