Nottinghamshire Child and Family Poverty Strategy September 2011 [PDF 254KB]
Nottinghamshire Child Poverty Needs Assessment 2011
Working Together to Tackle Child Poverty in Nottinghamshire
Why Tackling Child Poverty Matters
Why do we need a Child Poverty Strategy?
Targeting localities of greatest need
Building a Skilled workforce in Nottinghamshire to tackle child and family poverty
Nottinghamshire’s Vision: Our ambition is for Nottinghamshire to be a place where children grow up free from deprivation and disadvantage, and birth and social background do not hold people back from achieving their potential.
We will work together to reduce levels of child poverty and to mitigate the effects of child poverty on children, young people and families, as well as on future generations.
We will establish a downward trend in levels of child poverty and our progress will compare well with our statistical neighbours.
Working Together to Tackle Child Poverty in Nottinghamshire
A briefing [PDF 1.03MB] has been produced for stakeholders involved in the Child Poverty agenda in Nottinghamshire. This guide outlines the importance of tackling Child Poverty on a partnership basis and highlights key priorities for the development of a local strategy.
Why Tackling Child Poverty Matters
Many people believe there is very little child poverty in the UK today, but this is not the case - currently there are 22% of children living in relative poverty in the UK. This represents 2.8 million children, of which 1.5 million live in families where at least one adult is in work. ( Child Poverty Unit (2010) Child Poverty Needs Assessment Toolkit). Poverty damages childhoods - some families cannot, for example, afford to keep their homes warm or pay for basic necessities and activities, such as three meals a day, school uniforms or social outings. Children who grow up in poverty lack many of the experiences and opportunities that others take for granted, and can be exposed to severe hardship and social exclusion. Their childhood suffers as a result and this is unacceptable.
A full needs assessment to understand the picture of child poverty in Nottinghamshire is underway and will be published in March 2011. The following data provides just a flavour of some of the key issues for Children and Families across Nottinghamshire:
(a) In 2008 there were 16.8% of children living in poverty this equates to 27,080 children. 17.4% of under 16’s are considered to be in poverty (HMSO 2010). Since 2007 there was a 0.1% reduction in the number of children living in poverty, progress should be intensified if Nottinghamshire’s vision of less than 10% of children living in poverty by 2020 is to be achieved (HMSO 2010).
(b) In districts, there is wide variation in the percentage of children living in poverty. In 2008, districts are ranked as follows: Mansfield (22.7%), Ashfield (21.7%), Bassetlaw (18.3%), Newark and Sherwood (16.8%), Gedling (15.0%), Broxtowe (14.2%), and Rushcliffe (7.9%). All districts have a greater proportion of under 16’s who live in poverty (HMSO).
(c) In Nottinghamshire in 2008, there were 20,605 children living in households reliant on Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance, of which 15,205 were in lone parent households. When broken down at district level there is a marked difference in the numbers reliant on Income Support and Job Seekers Allowance Ashfield (4,305), Mansfield (3,970), Bassetlaw (3,240), Newark and Sherwood (3,100), Gedling (2,530), Broxtowe (2,230), and Rushcliffe (1,230) (HMSO 2010).
Why do we need a Child Poverty Strategy?
The Child Poverty Act obtained Royal Assent on 25 March 2010. The Act requires the Secretary of State to meet four targets to eradicate child poverty by 2020. It requires a strategy every three years to meet these targets. The Act introduces new duties on local authorities and their named local partners to:
- Co-operate to put in place arrangements to work with partners to reduce, and mitigate the effects of, child poverty
- Prepare and publish a local child poverty needs assessment to understand the drivers of child poverty in their local area and the characteristics of those living in poverty
- Prepare a joint child poverty strategy setting out measures that the local authority and each named partner propose to take to reduce, and mitigate the effects of, child poverty in their local area
- Local authorities to take their duty to reduce child poverty into account when preparing and revising their Sustainable Communities Strategy.
A guide to Part 2 of the Child Poverty Act 2010: Duties of Local Authorities and other Bodies in England [PDF 156KB] is available for all areas to help them fulfil their statutory duties to tackle child poverty. Frequently Asked Questions on Part 2 of the Child Poverty Act [PDF 31KB] is also available for organisations.
Child Poverty is about families, communities and economic prosperity. Therefore, every organisation has a role to play. The strategy will bring together existing priorities and plans in order for all partners to agree collective action to reduce child poverty and mitigate its effects.
The duties of the Child Poverty Act require Nottinghamshire County Council and named partners to work together to tackle child poverty and to militate against the effects of child poverty. Named partners include district councils, transport, probation, primary care trusts, police, and Jobcentre Plus. A Child Poverty Reference Group has been established to lead on the development of a needs assessment and strategy and includes additional partners. Terms of Reference [PDF 129KB] for this group are available on this webpage to download.
Targeting localities of greatest need
The Nottinghamshire Child Poverty Reference group was keen to find out what services were available for children and families in wards where over 30% of children and young people live in poverty, with a view that they can assess any service gaps or evidence that we have been engaging children and families most in need.
A management trainee working in Nottinghamshire County Council was asked to carry out this work and his report is available below:
- Child and Family Poverty: Assessing Service Provision in Hotspot Wards across Nottinghamshire Executive Summary [PDF 3.8MB]
- Child and Family Poverty: Assessing Service Provision in Hot Spot Wards across Nottinghamshire (full report) [PDF 5.1MB]
Building a Skilled workforce in Nottinghamshire to tackle child and family poverty
The Child Poverty Reference group adopted the recommendation included within the 2011 child poverty needs assessment to assess the development and training needs of the local workforce. An exercise was completed in October 2011 and the findings are included in the report below.
The Child Poverty Unit (CPU) has been leading on a programme of child poverty pilots since 2008.
This online collection of pilot case studies has been developed by CPU to raise awareness and inspire local areas to consider different approaches when developing their child poverty strategy. The case studies have been structured according to four themes: employment and skills, life chances, financial support, and place and delivery.
The case studies have been provided by the pilot areas and aim to illustrate how the intervention addresses the issues identified locally, what barriers they have faced, what innovative solutions they have adopted to address them, and what they see as emerging outcomes.
The pilots finished in March 2011 and final evaluation reports have been published at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/families/childpoverty/sharinggoodpractice
- Nottinghamshire Child and Family Poverty Strategy September 2011 [PDF 254KB]
- Nottinghamshire Child Poverty Needs Assessment [PDF 11.9MB]
- Nottinghamshire Child Poverty Needs Assessment Executive Summary [PDF 1.14MB]
- Tackling Child Poverty Summary of Literature Review Findings [PDF 283KB]
- Working Together to Tackle Child Poverty in Nottinghamshire - Stakeholder Briefing [PDF 1.03MB]
- Maps showing the percentage of Child Poverty by ward and district in Nottinghamshire
- Child Poverty Action Group http://www.cpag.org.uk/
- Child Poverty Needs Assessment Toolkit http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=22025996
- Child Poverty Unit http://www.dwp.gov.uk/policy/child-poverty/
- End Child Poverty http://www.endchildpoverty.org.uk/
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation http://www.jrf.org.uk/child-poverty
- The Child Poverty Act 2010 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/9/contents
- The Child Poverty Toolkit http://www.childpovertytoolkit.org.uk/How-To-Use-The-Toolkit
- The Poverty Site http://www.poverty.org.uk/
- Nottinghamshire Citizens Advice Bureau www.nottinghamshirecab.org.uk
- The Money Advice Service www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk
For more information contact: Irene Kakoullis on 0115 9774431 irene.kakoullis@nottscc.gov.uk
