Don celebrates 60 years of support for children

2.01.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 9th Aug 2006

Bath's MP, Don Foster, today joined a leading charity in celebrating 60 years of support for children. Don and the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) are marking the anniversary of child benefit, and its predecessor family allowances, which were first paid in August 1946.

9155 families in the Bath constituency currently receive child benefit, to help meet the costs of bringing up 16375 children.

Don is also backing the charity's Make Child Benefit Count campaign which calls for an increase in child benefit so that all children are paid the same amount.

At the moment, child benefit is worth £17.45 per week for the first child, but just £11.70 per week for second and subsequent children, so the move would help 5265 families in the Bath constituency. Don is urging constituents to support the campaign by logging on to www.makechildbenefitcount.org.

Commenting, Don said:

"Family allowances were introduced sixty years ago to help parents meet the costs of bringing up their children and thousands of families in my constituency continue to value the support that child benefit brings them.

"Although child benefit was increased a few years ago, it has only gone up in line with prices since then. On this sixtieth anniversary of universal benefits for children, it would be a fitting time to increase child benefit and ensure that all children are paid at the same rate.

"Increasing child benefit and ensuring that younger children get the same rate as the oldest child would help support larger families, which is vital if child poverty is to be ended once and for all."