Chris Nicholson pledges to take Action for Children in Streatham

Published on Wed 28th Apr 2010

Chris Nicholson, Liberal Democrat Party candidate for Streatham has pledged to take action for children to help break cycles of deprivation and help generations to come.

Nearly a million British children face a future trapped in the same cycle of deprivation as their parents. In the run up to the General Election, leading children's charity Action for Children is calling on politicians to take action now and pledge their support for the vital services that provide early targeted assistance for struggling families.

The charity is calling on the next Government to back essential early intervention services that offer vulnerable children and families the support they need to break free from the challenges they face and stop problems being passed down through generations.

Signing Action for Children's Pledge, Chris Nicholson said: "It is a tragedy that at the start of the 21st century so many children are still trapped in a cycle of poverty and deprivation. I firmly believe that everyone, regardless of background should have the same chance to make the most of their life. I am proud to sign this pledge which shows my commitment to challenging the status quo".

"The Liberal Democrats want to end child poverty by 2020. To do this, we will simplify Labour's over-complicated tax system which has failed to curb child poverty. Instead, we would concentrate tax credits on the lowest earning families and raise the basic taxation threshold to £10,000."

"Ensuring that children are receiving a first class education is vital in any long term solution to child poverty. We will achieve this through introducing a pupil premium giving £2.5 billion to schools taking on children from the most deprived backgrounds. This will increase the funding for each child on free school meals by £2,500 on average, to the same level as money spent on children in private schools. The pupil premium will cut class sizes, to ensure every child gets the individual attention they need."