More support for low-income families in Pre-Budget Report

They include free school meals for 500,000 more primary school children.

The child element of Child Tax Credit will increase by £20 above earnings indexation from April 2010, a rise of £65 in cash terms, a measure first announced in this year's budget.

Other benefits - such as child benefit - and tax credits will also rise by 1.5 per cent. The childcare element of tax credits will remain at up to 80 per cent of costs covered, that is a maximum of £175 a week for one child or £300 a week for two or more children.

Commenting on the Pre-Budget Report Anne Longfield, chief executive of 4Children said, ‘In difficult economic times we welcome the announcements to provide above inflation increases to child benefit and extend free school meals to an additional 500,000 children from low income households. Following Government's recent decision to continue to provide a tax subsidy on Employer Supported Childcare, these measures will provide welcome support to children and families across the country.'

However, Fergus Drake, Save the Children's director of UK programmes, said that while free school meals were welcome more needed to be done to ensure the poorest children were not left behind.

‘Alistair Darling's "meal deal" promise of free school meals for more children from low-income families is good news for the 50,000 children that the Chancellor says will be lifted out of poverty by this measure.
 
‘But this still leaves 1.4 million children living in severe poverty, whose parents struggle on a daily basis to put food on the table. We should be clear that Mr Darling today did little to help those families. The announced increase in child benefit amounts to just 30 pence extra per week for every eldest child. The overall Government target of lifting 650,000 children out of poverty next year is nowhere near being met.'

Philip Parkin, general secretary of Voice, the union for education professionals, said, ‘We welcome the promised packages of financial support and above-inflation funding for schools in these difficult times. However, we are concerned about possible cuts in training and university funding and the effect this will have on adult learners and this country's world-class research.

‘Our teaching, childcare and support staff members will also be worried about proposals to "cap" public sector pay and for public sector workers to contribute more to their pensions. This will effectively cut their incomes.'