Child Poverty on Derry City and Strabane District Council's agenda

Derry City and Strabane District Council will discuss Child Poverty at a special meeting.

The meeting, scheduled to take place on Thursday afternoon (February 22), will receive a presentation from Ms Mairead McCafferty, Chief Executive and Ms Alex Tennant, Head of Policy and Participation on behalf of the NI Commissioner for Children and Young People.

Ms McCafferty and Ms Tennant were invited to speak about Child Poverty following a motion passed at November’s full Council meeting.

The motion, proposed by Councillor Shaun Harkin (People Before profit) read: “Council notes with deep concern the distribution of almost 3,500 food parcels to adults and children across the district between April and September this year by Foyle Food Bank; a record 24% increase in food parcels distributed to children across the North; the Department for Communities report of almost 70,000 children here living in absolute poverty; and, the recent report published by Joseph Rowntree Foundation finding four million people experienced destitution in 2022, including one million children, in one of the richest societies on earth.

“Council notes with extreme alarm the findings of UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty, Oliver De Schutter, that levels of poverty maintained by the British government violate international law.

“Council agrees low-pay, inadequate benefits, forced migration to Universal Credit, unregulated private rental costs, the growing housing, education and health service crises and the lack of free childcare are combining to create extreme cost of living pressures on families and households across our District - and that these pressures will mount in the Winter months.

“Council will urgently promote through each of its available platforms all help accessible to families and households provided by organisations working in our District and by government.

“Council will write to the Board of Governors for local schools to take all possible measures to reduce school costs on households.

“Council supports all strikes, campaigns and actions taken to alleviate hardship and inequality.

“Council will again write to the British Secretary of State demanding the reversal of punitive budgets, including hurtful cuts targeting children; for holiday hunger payments to be immediately reinstated; and for urgent adequate funding for discretionary housing support. 

“Council will notify the Secretary of State and the NIO of our willingness to pursue them for extreme poverty and harm to children violations of international law.

“Council will invite the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and the NI Commissioner for Children and Young People for an urgent special meeting of the full Council."