With the debate continuing on government welfare reform, senior faith leaders from across the country are joining forces in an urgent call for the government to go further and be 'bold and ambitious' in its forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy.
Bishop Martyn, who serves as the lead bishop in the Church of England for welfare, has joined the call and put his name to an open letter to the co-chairs of the Ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce, Bridget Philipson, Secretary of State for Education, and Liz Kendall, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
The letter is signed by 35 faith leaders from all six of the major faith traditions represented in the UK, including former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Martyn Snow, Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg OBE, Director of Islamic Relief UK Tufail Hussain, Director of the Network of Sikh organisations UK, Lord Singh of Wimbledon, President of the Hindu Forum of Britain, Trupti Patel, and President of the Buddhist Society, Dr Desmond Biddulph.
It states: “We write to you as faith leaders from communities across the UK, to encourage you to be bold and ambitious in your upcoming Child Poverty Strategy.”
Currently three in every 10 (4.3 million) children in the UK are living in poverty, according to government figures and, without intervention, a further 400,000 are likely to be pulled into poverty by the end of the decade.
The Prime Minister promised during the last election that his government would introduce an ambitious plan to lift ‘millions’ of children out of poverty.
The letter highlights the findings from ‘Paying the Price’, a new report from Action for Children released this week, which sets out a comprehensive range of measures that would lift 1.2 million children out of poverty by 2030. These measures include action to reform and invest in a more effective social security system, and steps to boost social housing and improve opportunities for income from employment.
The research found that the single most cost-effective policy option the government could take towards ending poverty is scrapping the two-child limit and benefit cap, which, whilst not enough to achieve the necessary scale of reduction, would immediately free 400,000 from poverty and lift a total of 600,000 children out of poverty by 2030 at a cost of £3.9 billion per year.
The Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Martyn Snow, said: “Every child is a precious gift and should have the opportunity to flourish. Yet the scourge of poverty we see in our country today has profound implications on their health, wellbeing and life chances.
“Churches will continue to play their part in supporting children and their families experiencing hardship, meeting need where we find it, and advocating for policies which address structural challenges. An ambitious child poverty strategy would make a significant difference in the communities we live in and among.”
The letter and list of signatories in full
Dear Bridget Philipson, Secretary of State for Education, and Liz Kendall, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
We write to you as faith leaders from communities across the UK, to encourage you to be bold and ambitious in your upcoming Child Poverty Strategy.
We welcome the government’s acknowledgement in its manifesto that the UK’s increasing levels of child poverty and reliance on emergency food are a “moral scar” on our nation. Without action this scar will deepen, with an additional 400,000 children set to be pulled into poverty over the next decade.
This cannot be acceptable. As we look around the communities we serve, it is clear that this is not a time for half measures. We have seen the challenges faced by our neighbours become harder and harder. We’ve also seen communities step up time and again to provide support through debt centres, food banks, food pantries and warm hubs, as well as by simply providing welcoming spaces for those who need them. Millions are fed and supported because communities have risen to the challenge of ever-increasing poverty and hardship.
In setting out your Child Poverty Strategy, we ask you to demonstrate that you match the commitment and ambition of our communities and strive to ensure that no child in the UK is held back by poverty. This will require substantial investment and intentional focus from government. Research released this week by Action for Children sets out a roadmap of measures that could lift 1.2 million children out of poverty by the end of this parliament. These include action to reform and invest in a more effective social security system, and steps to boost social housing and improve opportunities for income from employment.
We all want this strategy to succeed, so it is important that these plans are developed in partnership with children and families who are experiencing poverty. This not only honours the wisdom and insight such lived experiences bring but will also help to ensure that policies are workable in the real-life contexts of our communities.
We recognise that there are many pressures on public spending, but we believe that there is an urgent moral imperative to prioritise policies that ensure that every child, whatever their background, has the best possible chance to thrive.
While we come from different faith traditions, we share a belief that working to end poverty should be a hallmark of any decent, compassionate society. We also believe that transformational change is possible. We are hopeful that the Child Poverty Strategy could be a turning point for the communities we serve, and we are ready to work in partnership with people of goodwill across society to ensure that every child has the start in life they deserve.
We anticipate your strategy and pray that it will rise to the challenges we face.
Yours sincerely
Rt Rev John Arnold, Bishop of Salford, Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford
Rabbi Robyn Ashworth-Steen, Co-chair of the Assembly of Reform Rabbis and Cantors in the UK
Anil Bhanot, Managing Trustee, Hindu Council UK
Dr Desmond Biddulph CBE, President of The Buddhist Society
Nicola Brady, General Secretary, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland
Adwoa Burnley, Clerk, Quakers in Britain
Revd Helen Cameron, President of the Methodist Conference, The Methodist Church in Britain
Rabiha Hannan, Trustee, New Horizons in British Islam
Tufail Hussain, Director, Islamic Relief UK
B"H, Rabbi Herschel Gluck OBE, Chairman Muslim-Jewish Forum, Rabbi Emeritus Sharei Mazal Synagogue
Carolyn Godfrey, Vice President of the Methodist Conference, The Methodist Church in Britain
Revd Lynn Green, General Secretary, The Baptist Union of Great Britain
Mrs Mia Hasenson-Gross, Executive Director, René Cassin -the Jewish voice for human rights
Bea Hulme, Youth President of the Methodist Church, The Methodist Church in Britain
Emma Jackson, Convener, Public Life and Social Justice Programme Group, The Church of Scotland
Commissioners Jenine and Paul Main, Territorial Leaders, The Salvation Army UK and Ireland
Revd Tim Meadows, General Assembly Moderator, The United Reformed Church
Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, Inter Faith Ambassador, The Muslim Council of Britain
Farooq Murad, CEO, The Islamic Foundation
Ravinder Kaur Nijjar, Chair, Sikhs in Scotland Interreligious Dialogue Committee, Sikhs in Scotland
Trupti Patel, President of the Hindu Forum of Britain and Trustee of the HFB Charity, Hindu Forum of Britain
Imam Dr Sayed Razawi, Director General, Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society (SABS)
Bishop Paul Rochester, General Secretary, Free Churches Group
Bishop Mike Royal, General Secretary, Churches Together in England
Indarjit Lord Singh of Wimbledon, Director, Network of Sikh Organisations UK
Elizabeth Slade, Chief Officer, General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches
The Rt Revd Martyn Snow, Lord Bishop of Leicester, Church of England
Most Revd Mark Strange, Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness, and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church
Dr Srihari Vallabhajousula, Scottish Hindu Religious leader, The Hindu Temple of Scotland
Rabbi Kath Vardi, Rabbi, North West Surrey Synagogue
Rt Revd Dr Rowan Williams, Former Archbishop of Canterbury, Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Llandaff, Church in Wales
Maya Withall, URC Youth Assembly Moderator, The United Reformed Church
Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg OBE, Senior Rabbi, Masorti Judaism
Rabbi Igor Zinkov, Co-chair of the Conference of Liberal Rabbis and Cantors, The Liberal Jewish Synagogue