Children's mental health
The UK government has committed to publishing a UK-wide child poverty strategy. This report makes recommendations for successfully delivering the forthcoming strategy.
Read the report (pdf)The UK government has committed to publishing a UK-wide child poverty strategy in the summer of this year. To help inform the Government’s work, the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), with support from Save the Children UK, and funding from Impact on Urban Health, conducted research on how to deliver an effective child poverty strategy.
Between August and October 2024, CPAG conducted interviews with 40 practitioners with first-hand experience of delivering a national child poverty strategy or with expertise in a specific policy area. This report presents the findings from this research and makes a series of recommendations for the forthcoming strategy.
Child poverty is an issue that affects every aspect of a child’s life, including their mental health. Living in poverty increases stress and anxiety, disrupts education, and limits access to safe housing, nutritious food, and vital support services. The evidence is clear: children in poverty are significantly more likely to experience poor mental health outcomes, and these effects can persist into adulthood.
At Impact on Urban Health, we believe that addressing child poverty is one of the most powerful levers to improve children’s mental health. That is why we, alongside partners such as the Child Poverty Action Group and Save the Children, are committed to advocating for bold, cross-government action to lift families out of poverty and break the cycle of disadvantage that harms children’s futures.
Our recommendations for the government’s child poverty strategy are as follows:
The strategy should:
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