Tag Archives: children’s society

Caron Lindsay

Sarah Teather slams “cowardly, politically motivated” freezing of asylum support

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 7th June 2013 - 1:37 pm

Regular readers will be well aware of Sarah Teather’s long record of campaigning for fairer, better treatment of asylum seekers. Earlier this year, she talked about a “deeply upsetting” report which told how pregnant asylum seekers did not receive the support that they need. In fact, one particularly distressing account told of a mother having to walk home in the snow carrying her newborn because she could not afford transport or a pram.

Yesterday, she described the  Home Office’s announcement that asylum support rates will be frozen for the upcoming year as cowardly and politically motivated. The freeze comes despite …

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Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 15 Comments
Eric Avebury

Eric Avebury writes … LibDems should oppose Tory measures against the poor

By Eric Avebury | Tue 2nd April 2013 - 1:04 pm

The Children’s Society reveals that 1.2 million school age children in poverty aren’t getting free school meals, 700,000 because they aren’t even entitled to them.

At the same time the Welfare Benefits Uprating Bill comes into force, under which almost two thirds of the money saved comes from the poorest households. According to the Department for Work and Pensions, the effect of the Bill is to increase child poverty by 200,000 children. The Institute of Fiscal Studies estimates that by 2015/16 there will be 300,000 more children in poverty than today.

The bedroom tax, which kicks in this month, affects 660,000 lower …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 48 Comments
Tom Brake

Tom Brake MP writes: Child detention – work in progress

By Tom Brake | Tue 18th October 2011 - 12:53 pm

The Liberal Democrats played the central role in delivering the Coalition Government’s commitment to end child detention and we have delivered big time.   In 2009 under Labour, more than a thousand children were held in pre-departure detention. In August 2011, there were just three children detained under immigration powers. 
 
Indeed, the Children’s Society has acknowledged the progress the Government has made on tackling the number of children held in pre-departure detention.  But, the recent figures from the Children’s Society make it crystal clear that we must now focus with the same determination on the detention of children, who have arrived at …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 5 Comments
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