Issue - items at meetings - Brighton and Hove Child Poverty Strategy 2012-2015

17.1    The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, People setting out the Brighton and Hove Child Poverty Strategy 2012-2015.

17.2         The Commissioner Children, Families and Youth explained that the council with partners was required to produce a Local Child Poverty Needs Assessment and Child Poverty Strategy under the Child Poverty Act 2010. A city wide needs assessment had been completed in June 2011. The Child Poverty Strategy responded to both the findings of the Needs Assessment (approved by the Public Service Board, June 2011) and the subsequent public consultation on the Child Poverty Strategy. Based on the findings of the needs assessment and subsequent public consultation the strategy recommended a focus on:

·        Lone parents because this is the majority family type living in poverty

·        Children and families with disabilities because they have a high risk of living in poverty and a greater risk of reduced income as a result of recent benefit changes

·        Families with a complex range of problems because the impact on children’s life chances is great as is the cost of intervening to support those families

·    Investigating further the extent to which Black and Minority Ethnic families are living in disadvantage in Brighton and Hove.

17.3    An action plan accompanied the strategy and this contained existing good practice and strategies/plans contributing to reducing child poverty as well as new activity required to make a difference.

17.4    RESOLVED - (1) That the Children and Young People’s Trust Board approves the Child Poverty Strategy as presented at Appendix 1 to the report; and

(2) That the Children and Young People’s Trust Board approves the progress of the Child Poverty Strategy to Cabinet.