Rising unemployment, rising food prices and a housing crisis are contributing to a ‘perfect storm’ of factors conspiring against families, the charity said.

Save the Children said the grants project was ‘a demonstration to the government of what can be done’, and that government failure to act would leave millions of children unprotected from poverty.

The children’s organisation, together with family charity Family Action, is delivering small grants of between £100 and £200 to some of the UK’s poorest families as the financial crisis takes hold — but warned that the money was a drop in the ocean. Only the government can provide the money needed to help the country’s poorest children, the charity said.

Save the Children is working with British Gas and Family Action, which has an established grants programme, to deliver £150,000 to those families most in need. The money will be given to help people pay for basic essentials.

“Families are at crisis point,” said Colette Marshall, director of UK programmes for Save the Children. “This project is designed to help those who are most in need to cope. It will provide vital help to a small number of families but we cannot do this alone. The government has to help.” 

“Save the Children has launched hundreds of grants projects in developing countries to help children in crisis.  The UK public generally believes there's no need for this sort of crisis grant here, but  today Save the Children is helping distribute money to families right on our doorsteps. If the Government can find money for the banks then why can't it find money for our children?”
 
“There are children whose parents can’t afford a proper meal or to fix a broken boiler without going deep into debt. The financial crisis makes their situation ever bleaker.” 

Helen Dent, Chief Executive of Family Action, said: “We know from our grants programme that growing numbers of families in the UK are struggling to provide their children with basic essentials. This project will help us reach out to more families affected by the recession, supporting them to meet their need for essential items and avoid incurring unmanageable debts.”

In its briefing, Families in Crisis, Save the Children warned of a ‘perfect storm’ of factors conspiring against the UK’s poorest families. These include rising unemployment, rising food prices, a housing crisis and increased emotional stress. The combination of factors means that families who have never struggled financially before, are living in the shadow of poverty.

Fiscal Stimulus

Save the Children argued that an investment in the poorest families in the Budget makes economic sense. Research in the US has shown that the most effective way of stimulating the economy is to put money in the hands of the poorest people. Economists have calculated that every dollar spent on the poorest households generated a return for the economy of up to $1.63. That compares with the value of tax cuts at only $1.28.

“It is clear that investing money in the poorest is not only vital and urgent for those families, it is necessary for the economy,” continued Colette Marshall.

“We are calling for the government to invest at least £3 billion in the poorest families as a one-off cash injection in this Budget. They should then follow that up with a long-term investment in the country’s poorest children.

“Without this spending the government will break its own promises of halving child poverty by 2010 and ending it by 2020.”

Save the Children is a member of the Campaign to End Child Poverty. Read the full briefing Families in Crisis (PDF 122KB)

To find out how to apply for a crisis grant please visit the Family Action website.