Responding to the budget, RCPCH President, Professor Steve Turner, said:
It is a huge relief to see that our calls to scrap the two-child limit have been heard in the autumn budget. Paediatricians have been clear that this policy has directly harmed the health and wellbeing children and their families by keeping them trapped in poverty and driving up preventable health inequalities.
This government has set out several important ambitions when it comes to children’s health and wellbeing, including a pledge to raise the healthiest generation of children. It is therefore welcome to see the expansion of the soft drinks industry levy to tackle obesity – a condition far more prevalent in our more deprived communities.
The College was also pleased to note the considerable investment in Neighbourhood Health Centres. Children and young people’s health must be a central feature in these plans, and we look forward to seeing how these services will be rolled out with their needs in mind.
While there is still much more to do when it comes to when it comes to protecting children from the disastrous impacts of poverty, today’s announcements are a step in the right direction. We now look towards the government’s upcoming Child Poverty strategy for further, much needed actions.