Charities demand the Assembly tackle child poverty or face 5bn bill

Across Northern Ireland, Trussell’s community of food banks distributed 35,000 emergency food parcels across Northern Ireland between April and September 2024 – this included 14,000 parcels provided for children facing hunger.

The majority of food parcels were distributed to families with children, with 71% of parcels going to households with children aged 0–16. Compared to the same period in 2019, this figure has increased by 93%.

Put to the floor by Sian Mulholland, Alliance, the motion stated: “That this Assembly expresses grave alarm that the number of emergency food parcels distributed by Trussell food banks to children in Northern Ireland increased by 90 per cent during the last five years; is further alarmed that the proportion of emergency food parcels provided to children is higher in Northern Ireland than any other part of the UK; is concerned by the recent report on child poverty from the Public Accounts Committee, which found that delivery of the Child Poverty Strategy has been characterised by failure; recognises that an adequate standard of living is essential for children’s physical, social and developmental needs; calls on the Minister for Communities to urgently publish the new anti-poverty strategy; and further calls on the Minister to work with the Department for Work and Pensions to create a progressive social security system that better supports families with children.”

The cost of child poverty over the next five years will be five billion pounds, according to the Northern Ireland Audit Office, and a failure to tackle child poverty early and effectively risks lifelong impacts to children’s health, education and general development.

Fiona Cole, Policy Manager at Trussell, said: “The Assembly has been back for a year now, and yet the anti-poverty strategy – which is key to improving the lives of so many– has not appeared.

“We are grateful for all of the MLAs who have supported this motion, but it must translate into action. The Assembly has to provide the hope of a better future, or we could see a generation of children who have their hopes cruelly taken away from them by systemic poverty.”

Trussell believe that no child in Northern Ireland should experience poverty and together call on the NI Executive to:

• Implement an evidence-based Anti-Poverty Strategy based on objective need that specifically targets Child Poverty;
• Endorse the Essentials Guarantee campaign ensuring Westminster guarantees at a minimum, Universal Credit should protect people from going without essentials;
• Scrap the 2-child limit to the child element of Universal Credit, and introduce a new weekly Child Payment to all children in poverty;
• Invest in the free school day by reducing school uniform costs, increasing free school meal entitlements, and re-introducing holiday hunger payments;
• Invest in accessible, good quality childcare by increasing flexible and affordable high quality childcare, removing barriers to paid employment.

Supporting the motion, Peter Bryson, Head of Northern Ireland at Save The Children, said: “In other parts of the UK Governments are making the ending of child poverty a political priority and are working with organisations, families and communities to try to make that a reality. In Northern Ireland the draft Programme for Government didn’t mention child poverty, let alone prioritise it.

"While the lack of any strategy around this in recent years, at a time when child poverty has worsened for the most marginalised communities, has been a dereliction of duty. The Anti-Poverty Strategy is a chance to correct course, show these children they matter and set out the concrete steps that we can all work towards to making that a reality.”

Lorna Ballard, Director at Action for Children in Northern Ireland, said: “We need to invest in our children early to avoid paying higher public costs in education, health (including mental health), social care, justice and the economy later down the line.

"Evidence from our own services, including hundreds of applications for crisis financial support, indicate more and more parents in Northern Ireland are struggling economically. Action for Children is committed to campaigning for a bold and ambitious Anti-Poverty Strategy that includes scrapping the two-child limit, promoting reforms that support parents to work and ensuring better investment in ‘early help’ children and family services.”

The motion was passed unanimously by the MLAs in attendance.