The Audit Office has released a report stating that one in five children in Northern Ireland are living in relative poverty, prior to factoring in housing costs. The report, presented by the Comptroller and Auditor General Dorinnia Carville, noted that child poverty indicators have shown hardly any sustained decrease in the past eight years.
Stormont’s child poverty strategy for the years 2016 to 2022 was scrutinised in the report, which pointed out that though the tackling of poverty was considered an interdepartmental strategy, the departments often did not collaborate effectively to deliver results. This lack of cooperation was deemed one of the reasons for ‘siloed’ interventions and ensuing poor outcomes.
The report asserted that children growing up in poverty are more susceptible to health inequities and have lower academic achievement, which can in turn lead to adulthood poverty. It underlined stark disparities with children in deprived areas anticipated to experience a good health span that is 11 to 15 years shorter than their more affluent counterparts. Additionally, these economically disadvantaged children are twice as likely to leave school without GCSES.
The significant barrier posed by unaffordable childcare to parents’ employment and consequent household income was also highlighted in the report. It stressed that Northern Ireland currently does not have a childcare strategy and offers lower government support for childcare costs compared to England, Scotland and Wales.
The report concluded that the 2016-2022 child poverty strategy had neither set clear poverty reduction targets nor allocated a specific budget for the cause. It further added that the strategy lacked prioritisation of early intervention and preventive measures.
The study emphasised deficits in Northern Irish departments’ apprehension of accountability protocols and a shortfall of conjoined efforts between them in implementing the scheme.
Commenting on the lack of a strategy to combat child poverty in Northern Ireland for nearly two years amid a financial turmoil, Ms Carville expressed disappointment. She warned that neglecting to address child poverty promptly and efficiently could have longstanding consequences on children’s health, education, and overall growth.
She pointed out that child poverty comes with a heavy financial burden, with previous estimates indicating annual costs ranging from £825 million to £1 billion.
Ms Carville sees the commitment from the Executive to craft a new anti-poverty scheme as an excellent chance to incorporate previous learnings. She underscored the requirement of targeting specific, long-range, and preventative goals to reduce future public expenditure.
She advocated for early measures that curtail the number of children living in poverty who progress into impoverished adults, noting this could bring about substantial declines in upcoming economic and social expenses.
She also pressed for clear-cut accountability procedures to be established and a transition from an isolated mode of operation to a collaborative inter-departmental approach in managing this demanding yet critically important issue.
To resolve this issue, the report presented several suggestions, a crucial one being the immediate call for the establishment of a cohesive, cross-function anti-poverty strategy.