Just to say I was able to mention the letter in the lords today and it was mentioned in the commons debate last week. Thanks again to kitty for organising it. Ruth
Sent from my iPhone
> On 29 Feb 2016, at 23:15, Kitty Stewart <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> 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
|