Our Director of Communications and Strategy Jo Green takes a look at this week’s Budget.
A couple of days on from the noise and claims and counterclaims of the Budget is often a better time to reflect on what the Chancellor has really delivered.
We all know that the economy and public finances are in a shaky state, but I was initially encouraged to hear the Chancellor talk about setting out a long term plan during his speech. For those of us campaigning for greater support and protection for children and families, a long-term plan to reform the broken care and SEND systems, tackling the blight of child poverty, and giving nurseries, schools, and colleges some certainty about their future funding, this should be something to celebrate.
Behind the soundbites though, how much of this Budget was about setting the groundwork for a long-term plan to improve children’s lives? And how much of it was about positioning ahead of a General Election later this year?
The good news first - the changes to Child Benefit will benefit nearly 200,000 families and will end the unfair cliff edge that did penalise some lone parents.
