BirminghamLive has published Birmingham: A Child Poverty Emergency - highlighting the startling rise in the city and impact on housing, health, crime and more. It marks the start of a new campaign at BirminghamLive and the Birmingham Mail newspaper demanding a better shot at life for young people in the city.
According to BirminghamLive, the campaign calls for:
- End the two-child benefit cap.
- Provide free school meals to every child in poverty.
- Create a city “aid bank” for baby and child essentials.
- Protect children’s and youth services.
- Create permanent, multi-year Household Support Fund and give more Discretionary Housing grants.
- Set up child health and wellbeing hubs in our most deprived neighbourhoods.
- Appoint a Birmingham child poverty tsar.
- Provide free public travel for young people.
The report, written by BirminghamLive's Jane Haynes alongside Reach’s Data Unit, has been timed to coincide with the Labour Party Conference taking place from September 22.
BirminghamLive Editor Graeme Brown said his journalists felt "something had to be done" after years of seeing conditions worsen - and has called on new Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to act urgently.
He said: "We sent reporters out all the time to shocking homes our city's children have no choice but to live in. Then we'll head out to schools and meet teachers who have to dip into their own pockets to ensure Brummie children eat that day. It often brings my journalists - who are hardened hacks - to tears. Enough is enough.We have worked with charities, experts and, most importantly, families to spell out the dire situation and outline some urgently-needed changes."
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