Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) is a UK

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

that works to alleviate

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

and

social exclusion Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. It is used across discipline ...

History

The Group first met on 5 March 1965, at a meeting organised by Harriett C. Wilson. It followed the publication of

Brian Abel-Smith Brian Abel-Smith (6 November 1926 – 4 April 1996) was a British economist and expert adviser and one of the most influential figures of the twentieth century in shaping health and social welfare. In Britain, his research for the Guillebaud c ...

and Peter Townsend's work ''Poor and the Poorest'': both men were founding members of the Group. At the second meeting one of the points raised was "That although increased family allowance might be the simplest and most equitable way of overcoming the poverty of large families, there was likely to be considerable difficulties in bringing about a change of this kind, partly because of the fear that this would tend to encourage people to have large families." One of its first actions was to send a letter to the Prime Minister, on 22 December 1965, signed by a number of distinguished public figure, which stated:

"The signatories of this letter would probably not all agree on the precise details of a scheme for reform: we are agreed, however, that action should be taken to achieve a radical improvement in the standard of living of families in poverty and we wish to bring this memorandum to your attention. We ask that the present arrangements for family allowances and the allowances for children be reconsidered and revised, and that bigger direct allowances be paid in respect of children in the poorest families."

Tony Lynes was the first full-time secretary of the Group in 1966. Frank Field served as Director of the Group from 1969–1979 and was followed by Ruth Lister (1979-1987) and Fran Bennett, and later by

Kate Green Katherine Anne Green OBE (born 2 May 1960) is a British politician, serving as Greater Manchester's Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime from January 2023. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Stretford and Urmston between 2010 and 2022. A me ...

(2004-2009).

Activities

CPAG programmes include: * Research and publish the latest facts and figures of family and

child poverty Child poverty refers to the state of children living in poverty and applies to children from poor families and orphans being raised with limited or no state resources. UNICEF estimates that 356 million children live in extreme poverty. It's estima ...

in the UK * Lobby the UK government, lead and support campaigns for effective policies to prevent, alleviate and abolish child and family poverty * Provide up to date information and reliable advice on the UK social security and tax credits systems * Conduct training courses in

Welfare Rights Welfare rights means the rights of people to be aware of and receive their maximum entitlement to state welfare benefits, and to be treated reasonably well by the welfare system. It has been established in the United Kingdom since 1969 and has als ...

, for both new and experienced advisers, to help them keep up to date with developments in social security and tax credits * Undertake test-cases to extend the interpretation of law in favour of claimants in social security, tax credits and related law using, where appropriate the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...

and the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

References

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External links

CPAG UK website
Children's charities based in the United Kingdom Child poverty Poverty in the United Kingdom Welfare state in the United Kingdom