We have been asking political parties to ensure they put children at the heart of government if elected on the 4th July.  

Over the last week, all the main parties have published their manifestos and we’ve taken a look at what policies they contain relating to babies, children and young people.  

To grow up happy and healthy, we believe all children need:  

• A safe, loving environment to grow up in with secure and nurturing relationships 

• Enough resources for a good standard of living  

• Whatever specialist help and support they might need, when they need it.  

So, how do the party manifestos stack up?  

Support for families 

Family Hubs 

It’s good to see the Conservatives commit to extending their Family Hub model to all Local Authorities. Family Hubs provide a single point of contact for all families looking for support, as well as early years’ activities like those we run at our Cowgate Centre, enhanced perinatal support, and youth groups.  

But they get significantly less funding than their predecessor SureStart, which the previous last Labour government rolled out. The Green Party would restore the Sure Start model, with a cash injection of £1.4bn. There is nothing in the Labour or Liberal Democrat plans about this kind of support for families.  

Childcare 

The Conservatives, Greens, Liberal Democrats and Labour are committed to extending funded childcare for early years. This was announced as a policy last year and is being already being rolled out. The Conservatives are also committed to expanding wraparound care, Labour will invest in more nursery places within schools, and the Liberal Democrats want to increase statutory pay for new parents.  

These are all helpful commitments for parents who want to work, but there is no support for those wanting to be able to stay at home and care for their children full time during the critical early years. Reform does offer a solution for this, ‘frontloading’ child benefit for children under four to give families extra resources in the early years, which could offset loss of earnings.  

Supporting babies 

There is a clear ‘baby blind spot’ across the manifestos, with the word baby mentioned only three times across the five manifestos – and one of those is in reference to the environmental hazard caused by baby wipes.  

Parties need to do much more to recognise the importance of the first 1001 days, and commit to supporting families in those days, around bonding, infant nutrition, understanding child development and parental wellbeing, not just focusing on getting parents back to work.  

Intensive family support 

For families who need more intensive help, there is little sign that this will be forthcoming under the next government, which is worrying for the most vulnerable children and their families. 

The 2022 social care review highlighted the urgent need to stem the flow of children coming into care by properly investing in support for families before things hit crisis point. The only party willing to commit to the investment needed is the Greens; Labour would ‘work with’ Local Authorities to support children in care, but without committing to any investment, that we know is so desperately needed.  

Both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have committed to better support for kinship carers, which is encouraging, but with numbers of children in care and the cost to the state at a record high, a properly resourced social care system should be much higher priority.  

Tackling Child Poverty 

With almost a third of children now growing up in poverty, and many regularly going without the basics, we are clear that this should be a top priority for the next government.  

Frustratingly, the Conservative manifesto doesn’t mention child poverty at all. Instead, they frame the two-child limit as an achievement – a policy that has pushed over a quarter of a million children into poverty. The only financial help for families is extending child benefit to thousands of high earners, at a cost to the taxpayer over £1bn, but making no difference to low-income and middle-income households.  

Both the Conservatives and Reform want to overhaul sickness and disability benefits –predominantly to save the government money – changes that would hit many households with children and risk pushing families deeper into poverty.  

Labour have said that Child Poverty is a top priority and promise a national strategy. Many of their policies, if delivered, should make a difference to low-income families. This includes promises on workers’ rights, rental reform and housebuilding. But without committing to any funded measures, it’s hard to see how much impact this strategy would have.   

Positively, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party have both included specific commitments in their manifestos to remove the two-child limit, benefits cap and five-week wait, which we know keep many families in poverty. They will also ramp up housebuilding, with a particular commitment to social housing, and improve rights for workers on low pay and ‘zero hours’ contracts.  

Reform don’t discuss child poverty specifically, but have said they would significantly raise the personal tax allowance threshold. This would make a huge difference to many working families living in poverty, but leave households unable to work still struggling.   

Support for children when they need it  

Mental health 

Given the rapid rise in mental health problems among children and young people since Covid, it is brilliant that all the parties except Reform are committing to significantly expanding mental health support for children.  

This looks set to include the presence of a mental health professional in all schools, and early help hubs in every community. Both models will focus on early-intervention, working with those who don’t meet CAMHS thresholds, to cut waiting lists and prevent mental health problems becoming entrenched and stopping children from living happy lives.  

SEND and neurodivergence 

We know many children with additional educational needs, and who are neurodivergent are currently struggling. They face long waits for assessments and support, and many are in school placements not suited to their needs, one factor driving up school absence rates.  

The commitment by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to a register for children not in school may help, but we need policies that tackle the root issues. All parties are clear in their broad commitment to reducing NHS waiting lists, and we hope this will include paediatric SEND assessments, but there are no specific commitments to this in any manifesto.  

The Conservatives have said they will significantly expand the number of special school places, whilst Labour is committed to improving inclusion of SEND pupils in mainstream schools, but without committing any resource. The Liberal Democrats would give local authorities additional funding for schools to put the right support for SEND pupils in place. Meanwhile the Green Party would push for £5bn to be invested in making mainstream schools fully inclusive, with accessible buildings and specially trained teachers, and for local councils to have the funds to support SEND students properly. 

The variety in approach reflects the failings of the 2022 SEND reform paper, and lack of clarity about the scale of unmet need and solutions required. The next government needs to commit to a proper independent review, and to be willing to invest the resources needed.   

Youth opportunities 

For young people navigating the transition to adulthood, the right support at the right time can make a critical difference, but many excellent youth work projects have closed in recent years because of a lack of funding.  

Policies on youth in the manifestos are very mixed.  

There is a broad commitment for better post-16 training opportunities for young people, including more apprenticeships and vocational training pathways.  

Labour, the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats have all indicated a renewed investment in youth work, but under the umbrella of tackling youth crime, rather than recognising the inherent importance and benefits of good quality youth work for all young people.  

The Conservatives want all 18 year olds conscripted into a reimagined National Service scheme, either committing to a 12-month stint in the military or volunteering in their community one weekend per month. They claim this will instil a sense of national pride and civic duty, and over £1bn is allocated to the scheme, but we have concerns it will negatively affect those from lower-income families, who are already trying to balance working and studying.  

So who should I vote for?  

We can’t tell you that. And from our analysis the manifestos are a mixed bag, with no single party offering a clear, coherent vision to make our country a great place to grow up.  

The Conservatives have some good policies, and some less inspiring ones, but with a huge blind spot when it comes to child poverty and the devastation it causes.  

Labour also lack policy in some important areas like support for families. Whilst they commit to work with local authorities to improve outcomes for vulnerable children, they haven’t set targets and are reluctant to invest, even on subjects they say they are prioritising, like child poverty.  

The Liberal Democrats are more robust on tackling child poverty, and the Green Party has been much bolder on committing funding for early years and SEND, and in championing local authority funded Youth Work.  

Reform have focused less on these areas where we know investment is needed, but would make changes to tax and child benefit systems which will help low-earners and increase choice for parents of young children.  

But these three smaller parties know they have little chance of making it into government, and scrutiny of their costings has revealed weaknesses.  

Our work is not done 

Whatever the outcome of the election, we will continue to raise our voice to campaign on these issues and hold government to account for how they are using public finances and policy to invest in the next generation so all our children have the chance to thrive.  

When asked what is most important to us, and what gives us a sense of identity, value and purpose, most of us think about our families and friends, homes and communities, health and wellbeing, hobbies and interests, people and places.  

We likely think about our jobs too – they can give us a sense of purpose and social connection, as well as paying the bills – but often don’t define us.  

Yet, sadly, in recent years this is how we have come to be defined by our leaders of our country. Within policy, our value is repeatedly reduced to what we contribute to the economy, how many hours we work, how much we earn. Lives defined as economic units on a spreadsheet of GDP and tax revenue.  

This approach is totally at odds with a vision for a healthy and compassionate society.  

It doesn’t recognise or value the vitally important unpaid work millions of us do; caring for children, elderly relatives and the people in our lives who need support.  

It doesn’t value unpaid roles in the community – involvement in local politics, school governance, or those running volunteer search and rescue teams which literally save lives.  

For people unable to work because of complex health and disability this approach is dehumanising. 

This approach also fundamentally undervalues children, treating them as a burden rather than a blessing.  

Children don’t personally contribute to the economy, but they cost money; they need feeding, clothing, education, healthcare and 24/7 care.  

The time families invest in raising their children; the story times, bath times and 4am feeds, listening, laughing together, making memories – none of this can be monetised. 

Yet social policy around children has reduced to childcare to enable parents to work and contribute to the economy. 

Of course, this picture is far from a fair reflection of the value of children and makes for alarmingly short-term, self-defeating policy and investment choices.  

Why? Because work with children adds hundreds of thousands of jobs to the economy. Because this work – paid and unpaid – shows the next generation good role models that makes for a thriving society built on respect and encouraging empowerment. 

Because children are the doctors, nurses, scientists, engineers, business owners of tomorrow – those who will pay their taxes and keep the economy going. Because they will become the mothers, fathers, carers, and teachers who raise the generation that comes after them.   

Because children have innate worth and bring into our families and communities priceless love, joy and fun.  

The impact of creating a society that devalues children is now directly affecting population demographics; across the developed world, birth-rates have fallen rapidly within a generation, raising concerns that there will not be enough of the next.  

We are already seeing the impact of falling birth rates and an ageing population in workforce short-falls, as we struggle to recruit and retain enough workers – especially in healthcare – to meet our population’s needs, and this is only set to grow. Our recent government’s short-term fix is to rely on immigration to fill those gaps, but without a long-term vision to address this ‘ticking time-bomb’.  

An increasing number of people are choosing not to have children altogether. For some this is a positive choice, but tragically, many people who would love to be parents feel they can’t afford to start a family, or have another child, as the gap between incomes and housing costs means the rites of passage for young adults of buying their own home is becoming impossible for many. 

And far from supporting families and those who want to have children through child-friendly tax and benefits policies we have the opposite. Our two-child limit is the only one of its kind among comparable countries in the western world, and was specifically designed to discourage lower income families from having ‘too many’ children, by limiting the amount of Universal Credit they can claim to only including a maximum of two children regardless of the actual household size. 

After seven years of the policy, the evidence shows that the majority (60%) of the families affected by the limit are working families, on low wages and often in insecure work. Moreover, even as the overall birth rate has dropped in this country, the policy has had a negligible impact on the birth rate among lower income families, showing that those who are choosing to have more children do so because they want to have a large family, even if it leaves them less well off. But by plunging hundreds of thousands of children into poverty, we are compromising from the beginning their chances of growing up happy, healthy and making a positive contribution to our future society.   

As we approach a general election this year Children North East is challenging this worldview and calling on those aspiring to be the next government to restore a holistic vision for our society.  

A vision in which all our society members are valued, including those who are not able to contribute financially, or can contribute less, ensuring they are properly supported through a social welfare safety net.  

We are calling for children to be seen as an investment, not a cost. We want the next government to put children at the heart of policy and decision making, not treat them as a problem to be solved.  

We want parenting to be valued, parents to have real choice about how they balance work and raising their families.  

We want child poverty to be tackled head on, so children are not growing up without the basic things they need.  

We want babies, children, young people and their families to get the support they need when they need it, without long waits, complex assessments and high thresholds.  

Our election briefing An Investment Not a Cost sets out our vision for the values that should underpin public life, and the aspects of social security and services and support for children which need to be reformed and invested in, for all our children to grow up happy and healthy.  

Join us in calling on all those running for Parliament to commit to putting children at the heart of policy making in the next government.  

Our Young People’s group based at our Benwell Allotment have been working their way through the history books to bring a new installation to the community!

As part of Life of the Wall project, the team explored what life was like at the time of the Romans when Hadrian’s Wall was built – which runs right along the Allotment site now! Our group visited Segedunum Roman Fort in Wallsend, and were joined by experts from Tyne & Wear Museums at our Graingerville location where they learned more about life as a Roman through artefacts and talks.

Visiting the Herb Garden at Segedunum, the group learnt how herbs were used for medicine and cooking, and that many still are today. They’ve now planted their own herb garden at the Allotment with the hope they’ll be able to use them in the future for their own cooking at home!

From the sessions at Great North Museum, our group found a lot of similarities between life in Roman times and nowadays – from architecture, drainage and even fast food! When tasked with designing and building an installation to mark the area, the group wanted to make something which made them think of home – of shared experiences, family, friends, different cultures and the food they shared. This inspired them to build a Pizza Oven in the Allotment which could be used by the wider community, with space for communal gathering nearby and Roman inspired decorations. Trying their hands at mosaic, the group have created designs which have been transferred to paving slabs to form the base, and worked with clay to build the outside of the oven.

This week, we fired up the Pizza Oven with some friends and special guests in a celebration of the group’s incredible work! Bringing out homemade pizza dough, fresh mozzarella and herbs grown in the allotment, the group made their own pizzas and cooked them on site – despite the typical North East summer rain it was a great afternoon and a fantastic way to round off the project! The group are now looking forward to more events and experimenting with what else they can cook in the oven – marshmallows are definitely on the list!

A special thanks to Tyne & Wear Museums, Historic England and local artist Marek Gabrysch for the support with this project.

With the General Election coming up, here’s everything you need to know to make sure you can use your vote and make your voice heard.

On the 4th July 2024, the UK Government will hold a General Election to determine the next Parliamentary body for the UK. Eligible voters will determine who is the MP for their constituency (area of residence in the UK). The party with the most MPs will form a government who will be in charge of making and passing laws, policies and decisions for how the country is run.
If there isn’t a single party which wins more than half of the seats, a group of parties needs to come to an agreement to form a government together, called a coalition.
Each political party will produce a manifesto, a set of policies or promises of what they will do for the country if they are elected, to try to persuade people to vote for them.

Who can vote?

To be eligible to vote you must be;

• Aged 18 or over
• A British citizen, an Irish citizen, or citizen of a Commonwealth country who has the right to live in the UK.
• You can’t vote if you are in prison.
• Registered to vote

For full details refer to the government website.

How to register to vote?

You must be registered to vote by Tuesday 18th June.
If you’ve never registered to vote before, or you’re only just old enough to vote you will need to register to be able to vote at the General Election. If you’ve moved house or changed your name since the last time you voted in an election you’ll need to register again. Visit www.gov.uk/register-to-vote and follow the instructions. You’ll need to provide your National Insurance number and your address.
If you are a student and you have a home address and a University address, you can be registered to vote at both addresses, and you can choose to vote at either address, but you can only vote at one.
If you’re not sure if you’re registered to vote you can check at your local Electoral Registration Office. More information here; https://www.gov.uk/contact-electoral-registration-office

How do I vote?

At a polling station, once you’re registered to vote you’ll receive a polling card telling you which Polling Station to visit. You can vote between 7am and 10pm on the 4th July.
Through a Postal Vote, if you are away or unable to get to your Polling Station make sure you are registered for a Postal Vote by Wednesday 19th June via www.gov.uk/apply-postal-vote
Through a Proxy Vote, which is where someone else votes on your behalf. You must apply for this by Wednesday 26th June here www.gov.uk/apply-proxy-vote with the reason why you want to vote through a proxy. The person voting on your behalf must be registered to vote, be able to provide their own photo ID and be able to vote at the polling station named on your polling card.

You must have one of the below forms of photo ID when you go to the polling station.

• UK passport
• Photocard driving licence
• Driving licences and passports from certain other countries are also accepted, as are national ID cards from some countries, a Blue Badge or PASS card.
• You can use ID that has expired, as long as the photograph still looks like you.

There is a full list of acceptable ID on the government webpage www.gov.uk/how-to-vote/photo-id-youll-need
If you don’t have acceptable photo ID you can apply for a specific photo ID document for voting, called a Voter Authority Certificate. You can do this online, for free and will need to provide your National Insurance number and a recent digital photo of yourself. Register for your Voter Authority Certificate via www.voter-authority-certificate.service.gov.uk/check/registered by Wednesday 26th June.

Between October 2021 and January 2024, the North of Tyne Poverty Truth Commission listened to people with experience of poverty in Newcastle, North Tyneside, and Northumberland to develop a deep understanding of the issue for our region.

What is a Poverty Truth Commission?

The guiding principle of a Poverty Truth Commission is ‘Nothing about us, without us, is for us’. In a Poverty Truth Commission, those with direct experience of poverty (‘Community Commissioners’) share their knowledge about what is needed to make meaningful changes to improve the lives of those living in poverty. Together, they explore their experiences and decide what they would like to communicate about poverty to their community. Individuals with the power to influence change within organisations and institutions (‘Civic and Business Commissioners’) also participate in the process, building understanding and relationships, and promoting best practices across their organisation and networks.

What makes the North of Tyne Poverty Truth Commission unique?

North of Tyne was the first Combined Authority in the UK to host a Poverty Truth Commission and the project was the first to serve multiple council areas, including Newcastle, North Tyneside, and Northumberland. The Commission was a direct response to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had made life difficult for many residents.

Timeline

What the Commission want you to know…

Over 18-months of sharing stories and experiences of poverty, Commission members identified some major challenges affecting people living in poverty they wanted to increase awareness of:

• How services are delivered and structured, and the development of policies, can all impact negatively on those in poverty.
• Poverty can increase the risk of experiencing traumatic events such as abuse, neglect, violence or hunger.
• Social inclusion must be seen as an equal partner to economic growth.

Hear first-hand the impact of poverty on the lives of Commissioners

North of Tyne Poverty Truth Commission

Gemma’s story

“Can you imagine being a parent of a child with SEND and not being able to pay for everything they need for their care? You rely on health and social services to decide what help you can access, and housing services choose where you live.”

Read Gemma’s story >

Penny’s story

“Part of the challenge is the stigma, the idea someone accessing any kind benefits are playing the system or going to make bad decisions. In reality, it’s such a small percentage who abuse the system.“

Read Penny’s story >

David’s story

“From when you wake up to when you go to bed, it’s about surviving. I’ve worked and paid in during my life and now care for my mum. If you have a shorter-term problem, kids, time-off work or family, the system doesn’t take account of that.”

Read David’s story >

Amy’s story

“ I truly want all vulnerable single parents to be properly supported by society and not labelled, caring is a valuable role too and should be seen in that way.”

Read Amy’s story >

Outcomes of the North of Tyne Poverty Truth Commission

The North of Tyne Poverty Truth Commission was a complex project building relationships across diverse communities, deep listening to the challenges of poverty across the North of Tyne, and raising awareness about how poverty can be better understood and alleviated.

Some of the more tangible outcomes of the Commission include:

The video Pride and Dignity in Food Shopping, supporting those living in food poverty to understand a range of options available to them and highlighting the value of autonomy in food choices. Watch Pride and Dignity in Food Shopping >

Over the course of the Commission, some Community Commissioners were recognised for their advocacy and given platforms to continue their work, including David Black being appointed as a Governor at Newcastle Hospitals and Penny Walters being awarded a British Empire Medal for her work campaigning against poverty.

Two open letters to MPs, CEOs, policy-makers and other leaders on in Health and Care. One calling for a more proactive approach to preventing illness and the other removing barriers to people with caring responsibilities to employment.

• Read the Open Letter on Health >
• Read the Open Letter on Care >

Funding was secured by Commission members to develop further work tackling poverty.

Pledges were made by guests of the end of project event, committing to actions that would promote change, including increased campaigning, improving understanding of poverty within their organisation, listening to ‘experts of experience’ and promote their staff be trauma informed.

A ‘Call to Action’ event has inspiring many organisations in the North of Tyne region to continue the work of the commission. Read press on the Call to Action event >

Download the full North of Tyne Poverty Tyne Poverty Truth Commission Report

The North of Tyne Poverty Truth Commission was delivered by Children North East and funded by the North of Tyne Combined Authority, Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland.

This summer, our campaign to Get Out & Grow shines a spotlight on the incredible work our youth groups have been involved with, including our Social Action Group who have been looking after their local environments through litter picking and building bug hotels, and our Allotment Group who have been working on a special project with the National Trust and Great North Museum to build their very own pizza oven!

Through these projects we’ve been encouraging children and young people to get in to nature and explore the world around them. The activities have helped improve their mental health, shape team-building and communicative bonds and the sensory developments of children learning new sensations and textures.

Whether you live in a rural area with plenty of green space, or a city with a local park we are encouraging families to spend time together learning about the natural world.

If you would like to join in with the action, we are offering free Seed Grow Pouches to encourage people to Get Out & Grow! These handy pouches are small enough to thrive on a windowsill and will grow bee attracting flowers which can be planted outdoors or in a pot. Teaching children the cycle of seed to sproutlings to full plants, and how these play an important role in our biodiversity. Sign up now to get your free Seed Grow Pouch, and make sure to send us some photos!

Follow along as we #GetOutandGrow!