Real Choices - Tackling Child Poverty In Cornwall

Over 50% of children in Britain are living in poverty. Tackling child poverty is a national and local priority.

The "Real Choices – tackling child poverty in Cornwall" Project was one of 24 successful bids from 140 applications nationwide, to the Treasury's Invest to Save – Inclusive Communities Budget. Additional resources designed to develop partnerships between local authorities and the third (voluntary and community) sector to improve public services. The funding totals £575,500 between now and 2010 and will be match funded with resources from Cornwall County Council Family Services, Jobcentre Plus, North Cornwall District Council and Caradon District Council.

The Government has a long-term goal to eradicate child poverty by 2020 and to halve it by 2010. Over 50% of children in Britain are living in poverty. Low income, whilst important, is just one of the contributing factors. Mental and physical health problems, worklessness, lack of childcare, low skills lack of family support, child protection issues, problems with benefit entitlement, debt and poor housing are amongst the many other possible factors. Families living in poverty are often in contact with multiple agencies, with families costing statutory services tens of thousands of pounds every year. We know that, in order to break the cycle of poverty, we need to be addresses the needs of the family as a whole.

"Real Choices" aims to:
• Improve employment rates, especially for hard to reach groups
• Narrow inequalities of opportunity for poor children, especially health and educational opportunities
• Improve the full range of local services for children, including childcare and early years activities, cultural and leisure activities and family support services
• Promote the take up of benefits and tax credits locally
• Show a cost saving over the life of the project resulting from new approaches to service delivery

The project was formally launched on October the 24th alongside other work being undertaken by Cornwall Works at the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth and is already receiving national recognition as an "innovative partnership" approach to tackling child poverty.

For further information please use the links to the right of this page or contact:

James Hardy
Real Choices - Child Poverty Co-ordinator
Inclusion Cornwall
Lemon Quay House
Truro
TR1 2PU
Tel: 01872 355126
Mob: 07973 497249
Email : jhardy@cornwall.gov.uk