Children’s Commissioner for England calls for a ‘pre-emptive’ package of welfare and housing support for families who have built up rent arrears during the COVID-19 outbreak

Recommendation forms part of a comprehensive recovery package to tackle rising tide of childhood vulnerability caused by the crisis

The Children’s Commissioner for England has called for a ‘pre-emptive’ package of welfare and housing support for families who have built up rent arrears during the COVID-19 outbreak in order to prevent a potential wave of family homelessness.

In a new report, Childhood in the time of COVID, Children’s Commissioner for England Anne Longfield examines the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on children and warns that, even before the coronavirus crisis struck, there were 2.2 million vulnerable children living in risky home situations in England, including nearly 800,000 children living with domestic abuse and 1.6 million living with parents with severe mental health conditions, and that numbers are likely to have swelled due to families being locked down together for long periods and facing pressure from the worsening economic impact of COVID-19 on family finances.

Among measures recommended for inclusion in a 'comprehensive recovery package' are for greater investment in local authority early help services and the reversal of legal changes that have reduced children’s rights and protections. In addition, the Commissioner calls on the government to ensure that all families have the basic resources to provide care for their children, by taking action to -

• introduce a pre-emptive package of welfare and housing support for families who have built up rent arrears to counter a potential wave of family homelessness;
• continue the £20 uplift in universal credit and working tax credit for families, that is due to expire in April 2021; and
• to provide an additional £10 per week child payment to families.

Commenting on the report, Commissioner Longfield said today -

‘Children have fewer health risks from COVID-19 and yet they have suffered disproportionately from the nation’s efforts to contain the virus. While it has been good to see a greater understanding in parts of Whitehall and Westminster about what it means to be a vulnerable child, many of the decisions taken over the last six months have not put children first. While pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops opened, the majority of children were not able to attend school.

Unless the government acts now, COVID-19 is in danger of becoming an inter-generational crisis, with the impact of the economic fall-out on parents determining the future prospects of their children. This would decimate the Government’s ability to level-up opportunity across the country in the way the Prime Minister has repeatedly promised to do.

The scale of the response to COVID-19 has shown us how our society can respond to huge challenges. After all the sacrifices children have made over the last few months, we should repay them with a comprehensive recovery package, ‘a Nightingale moment’, that puts their interests first.’

For more information, see A comprehensive recovery package is needed to tackle rising tide of childhood vulnerability caused by the COVID crisis.