9. 1
Causes of child poverty
The main causes for child poverty here in Lancashire are income related poverty, worklessness, welfare dependency, health disadvantage, educational
disadvantage, family structure, loneliness, lack of social ability, Fuel Poverty, economic development, In work poverty and multiple disadvantage. Also the
rises of un-employment and childcare cost have a big impact on child poverty today.
Child poverty rose during the 1980s to 31%, and only started falling in the 2000s.
Please see appendix *
Jrf. Hannah Aldridge, Peter Kenway, Tom Maclnnes, Anushree parekh
Income poverty
The economic circumstances have a huge effect on child poverty. With working family’s on the low incomes, they are still stru ggling to provide a healthy
environment for their children. Inequality in wages and social education affects these children. Taking into account parents who are frequently without
work is one of the key factors creating child poverty. 6 areas throughout Lancashire are ranked in the 2% utmost disadvantaged areas in England for child
poverty. 9.5% of children in Lancashire live in areas ranked among the 10% poorest nationally for income deprivation. 6.1 million Children in poverty are in
working households. The number of people in in-work poverty now overtakes the quantity of people who are not employed but also surviving in poverty..
In-work poverty has been increasing gradually for at least a decade.
http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/childrenstrusts/
worklessness
With parents not having the appropriate skills and knowledge this reduces their chances of finding a well -paid job. Furthermore with the cuts in the
economy there are few jobs available. Excessive levels of unemployment among loan parents do enhance the risk of child povert y. At the beginning of 2011,
approximately 6 million people in the UK were underemployed. This had improved very little from 2010. Underemployment had not been this high since
1993.
Welfare dependency
The government aims to decrease the amount of people who rely on state benefits. The welfare system does not offer enough incentives for individuals to
work. People who are on low incomes or benefits are finding it hard to escape the poverty trap. Although people who are in working fami lies seem to be
suffering poverty just as much as people on benefits. See appendix. With the economic recession more people are dep ending on welfare to survive. 2

10. Health disadvantage
Evidence suggest that in the family and children’s study that income poor children are more likely to suffer from long term h ealth problems, disability or
infirmity. Evidence shows that persistently poor children suffer from obesity, and emotional and behaviour concerns. Health inequalities among deprived
and non-deprived areas have risen in the last decade.
Educational disadvantage
Low income is a convincing predictor of low educational performance. A primary cause of child poverty is a lack of opportunities among parents with low
skills and low qualifications. Such parents are less likely to work. These children living in poverty also need to be entitled to the same learning and teaching
styles as any other children to succeed in life. Skills and knowledge performance in the past have been unsatisfactory for employers who have taken on
school leavers for work. Since 1997 the labour government sought to raise standards for skills and qualifications levels in the work place.
The amount of in-work poverty is the greatest distinctive characteristic of poverty today. Employment should always be a route out of poverty but today it
is not.
Jrf.org
Implication for the children living in child poverty
There are almost 4 million children living in income poverty today. Children living in poverty are more likely to suffer long term health disadvantages.
Learning and activities can be a big implication for these children, Children who live in poverty can find i t hard to concentrate and do well at school. Studies
show that children from poor backgrounds do not look at education from the same perspective as a child living in a family that is not living below the
poverty line. They can be very negative towards education whereas children not living in poverty have a more positive outlook on education and
understand the importance of doing well at school. Research shows this is down to lack of confidence for the children who live in poverty families. This will
affect the children’s ability to do well in their future for gaining employment and stability. Evidence shows that children living b elow the poverty line do not
do as well at school as other children.
Sutton ET ell and horgan 3

11. Recommendation’s for new social policies
The government needs to understand the causes of child poverty in order to tackle this problem. They need to have an understanding of living in a low
income house hold to have a good perception of what issues these children are facing on a daily basis. New welfare policies need to be introduced and
supported by government. New policy developments need to be addressed and analysed to ensure the development of these policie s are heading to
achieve the overall outcome which is to reduce child poverty. Walker, 1999 states that new policies are in place to end child poverty by the year 2020.
Poverty trends over recent decades show improvement in some areas and worsening in others. Above all they show that poverty i s not inevitable but is still
a complex issue.
Jrf.org
Changing the people’s perception can influence parents on the importance of educating their children to do well at their education. Social mobility is
forever important for these individuals to escape the poverty trap that a lot of these unfortunate people in our society face. Experience of a better life style
and being able to socialise with people from higher educated backgrounds and all nationalities would benefit these people maj orly. The children would get
a chance to interact on a more profound level and develop more sociable skills, enabling them to build confidence for the future. Society has a defined l ine
between poor and wealthy. Poor people socialise with poor people, therefore this encourages people from less affluent backgro unds to accept there less
fortunate life style that they live. Furthermore the affluent people of society seem to stick together also, this has led to people associating with their “own”
rather than being able to communicate and socialise with people from all backgrounds. Education programmes for the parents and children would also help
to break this poverty trap they are living in decade after decade. Making these people aware of the opportunities that are av ailable to them and helping re-
educate if necessary to help gain more skills and knowledge. Also in-work poverty really needs to be addressed as a priority, even thou they are in
employment they are still living in poverty. See appendices
The documentary I have provided shows improvements on housing and the local authorities are working to tackle the problems. These areas still alienate
the less fortunate people from society by housing them all in the same area. Social capital needs to be addressed in these areas.
Intergenerational transmission of disadvantage needs to be addressed and the cycle needs to be broken. However the government do have in place
children centres known as sure start for development and socialising skills for the younger children.
People from different ethnic backgrounds and disability status are suffering the most due to health inequality and exclusion from society. Managing decline
as well as growth in deprived or neglected areas will also benefit these less fortunate people. 4

12. Refrences
Jrf. Hannah Aldridge, Peter Kenway, Tom Maclnnes, Anushree parekh
www.lancashire.gov.uk/childrenstrusts/
www.parenting.signposts.org.uk
Pete Alcock 2008, social policy in Britain.
Joseph rowntree foundation
1998, 2003 Social policy 2nd edition. Pete Alcock, Angus Erskine and Margret May.
Poverty Street, Ruth Lupton 2003 policy press 5
Biliography
Children and young people website*
www.lancashire.gov.uk/childrenstrusts/
www.parenting.signposts.org.uk
Raff et al., Education and poverty: a critical review of theory, policy and practice
Pete Alcock 2008, social policy in Britain.
Joseph rowntree foundation
1998, 2003 social policy 2nd edition. Pete Alcock, Angus Erskine and Margret May.
Poverty street, Ruth Lupton 2003 policy press
Jrf. Hannah Aldridge, Peter Kenway, Tom Maclnnes, Anushree parekh 6