Dear all,
Just to let you know, in case anyone missed it, that the government has backed down on the abolition of the child poverty measures. The Bishop of Durham's amendment was defeated in the Commons last week, but the government subsequently put a revised amendment to the Lords which does pretty much the same thing. There will be no requirement to report to parliament, but the law will continue to require annual publication of all four of the existing measures.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2015-2016/0098/amend/ml098-I.pdf
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2c0617e0-dc80-11e5-a72f-1e7744c66818.html#axzz41b1xBk7e
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/feb/26/uk-government-forced-to-retain-household-income-as-measure-of-child-poverty
Maybe our joint letter, which was published in the Times on the morning of the Commons debate, added a little bit of extra pressure at a key moment, on top of the strength of the vote in the Lords and the concerted opposition from children's charities and others. Whether it did or not, it seems that making a lot of noise can still make a difference, which is very cheering!
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/letters/article4696798.ece
(In other good news, this evening the Lords have voted down the proposed cuts to ESA for the second time, so that battle will continue.)
Best wishes to all
Kitty
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