Liverpool City Region plan to improve life chances of
children and young people
13 February 2012
A key policy group says
almost a third of children in the Liverpool City Region are growing
up in poverty – that’s around 91,000 children.
17,000 children live in families that survive
on less than £108 a week.
The stark figures are revealed by the
Liverpool City Region Child Poverty and Life Chances Commission, an
innovatory body promoting the best local and national practice to
combat poverty and increase life chances.
The commission, which is the brainchild of the
City Region Cabinet, has launched a wide ranging strategy to make
life better for all children and young people.
There are 85 recommendations, which
include:
- Working with Government to
employ more midwives and health visitors to support families in the
first weeks and months of a child’s life.
- GPs to improve vaccination
rates among all families.
- More pressure on schools to
raise the achievements of children on free school meals.
- A 50p minimum unit price for
alcohol – to tackle the damaging effects of heavy drinking on
family life.
- More pressure on Children’s
Centres to reach all families not just those who attend their
sessions.
- Supporting credit unions to
sign up more low income families so they can access cheaper
loans.
- Ensuring Jobcentre Plus and
other organisations who help people to get back into work focus on
the needs of parents.
- Work with childcare
providers and regulators to ensure that there is a balance between
supply, demand, quality and affordability of provision.
- Work with employers to adopt
and promote more flexible working patterns for people with
families.
Liverpool is the first city
region group in the country to tackle child poverty.
The strategy commits the six councils and
their partners involved to working together to meet the
challenges.
It was launched at Liverpool town hall by
Frank Field MP, Chair of the Commission and Sheena Ramsey, Chief
Executive of Knowsley Council, which is the city region’s lead
authority on child poverty.
Frank Field MP, Chair of the Liverpool City
Region Child Poverty and Life Chances Commission, said:
“Six local authorities and their partners have
come together with the single aim of spending their existing
budgets more effectively. We will achieve this objective by
adopting the practices of whatever activity has proved to be the
most effective approach in its outcomes on decreasing poverty and
increasing life chances.
“Our approach, which is set out in the ‘Child
Poverty and Life Chances Strategy’, is to bring together
organisations across the city region to work collectively to help
parents to bring about real change in their families: this is the
most important activity the city region and country could undertake
if it is sincere in its wish to improve the life chances of
children.
“A large number of small changes will make a
significant impact on the lives of children and young people across
the city region. We all have a responsibility to get involved with
this if we want to see an improvement in the lives of our children
and young people.
“It’s a huge challenge but one I’m confident
that by working together we can go a long way to achieving.”
Sheena Ramsey, Chief Executive of Knowsley
Council, the City Region’s lead authority on child poverty,
said:
“The launch of the strategy signals the start
of real change for children and young people across the city
region.
“The six authorities involved are passionate
about making a difference and through working together and with
others we can make things happen.
“We want to ensure that every family in the
city region maximises their income. We will make sure organisations
which help people into work focus on the needs of parents and that
families know about the wide range of services available in their
local area.”
Pictured: Sheena Ramsey, Chief Executive
of Knowsley Council, and Frank Field MP at the launch of the
Liverpool City Region 'Child Poverty and Life Chances Strategy' at
Liverpool Town Hall.