Disadvantaged Children

David Simpson Excerpts

Thursday 20th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[David Simpson (Upper Bann) (DUP)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds) on obtaining this important debate. I speak as someone who grew up with a rural, working-class and relatively average background, and as the father of three children. My parents, like all parents, wanted the best for me, and I want the best for my children. I imagine that all hon. Members, from whatever party, would share that wish for succeeding generations. That is why it is welcome to see that the Government plan to improve the life chances of disadvantaged children at a very early age before they start school. I agree that the nought to five age group, which has been dubbed the foundation years, should be put on an equal footing with primary and secondary schooling

But we have to face up to certain realities. This is not simply about throwing money at a problem. Other crucial issues are involved. Neither can we take the approach that it does not require financial investment by Government. I fear that too often in the past an emphasis has been placed on financial intervention, Government expenditure and statistics on a page. We have created a culture of benefit dependency that has become generational, passed down from parent to child.

Have we really failed when it comes to education? We have emphasised the number of young people who go to university, regardless of the fact that far too many leave with degrees that are utterly useless when it comes to finding a job in the real world. I am reminded of a media studies course once offered at Staffordshire university that included a module on David Beckham. As Members can tell, that would hold little attraction for me, but I am sure that some people might be interested in studying David Beckham’s different hair cuts. How does that help young people achieve a better future and better life prospects?

For that reason, I welcome the fact that the Government have acknowledged that the children of adults with few opportunities in the labour market are at risk of growing up with the same disadvantages, perpetuating the poverty cycle for a new generation. I also welcome the fact that the Government have said that they will focus on reducing the factors that lead to

“disadvantaged children… gaining fewer qualifications”,

which leads to

“a widening gap in employment outcomes in later life.”

However, those must be the right kind of qualifications that actually offer the prospect of employment.

We have had too casual an attitude to the benefits of marriage and family. As a nation, we have almost made it a crusade to tell everyone that just about any kind of family unit is equal to every other. It is rather like a school sports day at which everyone wins and nobody loses. Everyone is told that they have done so well and they all get a prize. That simply does not work, and we should not regard the drift away from the traditional idea of family to be a badge of honour.

It is important that incomes continue to rise, and it is right that prospects increase along with standards of living. In terms of health, life expectancy and social mobility, it is vital that we continue to drive the economy forward and invest in our future, but we must also address the areas that have been neglected or actively under political assault in recent years. We cannot ignore the importance of family. It is more than just a word, a catchphrase or a political gimmick. A child’s life prospects are increased in a stable family with two parents who set out clear boundaries for acceptable behaviour and teach them proper social skills and interaction. Some people might point out that many young people are not growing up in such an environment and need to be assisted, and I entirely agree. However, it must also be pointed out that many of those young people will eventually be in relationships and will become parents. Are we simply to repeat the cycle all over again?

It is not simply about finances and budgets, but nor can we ignore the financial issues. I agreed with the Minister of State, Department for Education, the hon. Member for Brent Central (Sarah Teather), who has responsibility for children, when she said on 21 December that

“the fact that 2.8 million children in the UK live in poverty is a scandal.”

Who could argue with that? I cannot, however, agree with the comments that followed. She said:

“The best way to eradicate child poverty is to address the causes of poverty, rather than treat only the symptoms.”

It should not be a choice between treating the causes or the symptoms. Rather, it should be about doing everything possible to treat both. I note the comments made by the former Children’s Commissioner for England, who warned of the dangers of the planned cuts. I also note the concerns raised about pupil premiums, the size of the available budget and the question of new money.

We must get to the core of the matter: social mobility. However, it must be considered not on its own, but alongside family stability, personal discipline, personal responsibility and a set of principles or—dare I say it in this House—a moral compass. That must be an element of any new approach. We hear much about the big society and there is now something of a scramble to claim to be the champions of it. The evidence we have seen with our own eyes day in, day out overwhelmingly tells of the failure of recent years and the breakdown in family and community that follows in its wake. The so-called big society, which all the main parties now seem to want to espouse, can be built on only the smallest building blocks of any society, namely the individual and the family. We must not treat the causes and simply ignore the symptoms, so finances are important, but neither should we try, as others have in the past, to treat the symptoms without finally deciding as a people and as a Parliament to tackle the underlying causes.