The UK Alliance for Investing in Children welcomed European Commission’s Country Specific Recommendations (CSRs) for the United Kingdom published on 2 June. In its statement, the UK Alliance declares that the EU has identified a number of key priorities, which include tackling child poverty, delivering ‘adequate’ benefits, addressing youth unemployment and enhancing childcare provision.
Whilst the project led by Children in Wales, in partnership with Children in Scotland, Children England and Children in Northern Ireland, is receptive of the priorities for the UK being identified, it considers that the CSR do not sufficiently convey the need for urgent action, which is now required if the UK is to begin to address many of the social and economic problems which a growing number of the population are experiencing, such as unemployment and the reform of the tax and benefit system.
The UK Alliance calls on the UK and devolved governments to fully implement the European Commission’s Recommendation ‘Investing in Children’, which alongside the CSR will go towards the country delivering on its duties enshrined in the Europe 2020 strategy and reverse the increasing levels of child poverty.
You can read the full statement here.