Big Issue founder Lord John Bird has renewed his call for a new government department dedicated solely to eradicating poverty in Britain. The crossbench peer, who was born in a Notting Hill slum, told The Mirror that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) acts as an 'emergency department' rather than focusing on preventing poverty.
Lord Bird, 79, proposed a 'ministry of poverty prevention and cure' to break the cycle of inherited poverty. He argued that such a department could reduce the number of people ending up in prison due to poverty. 'Since the Second World War - the creation of the welfare state - we have not had a government department which is solely concerned with getting rid of poverty,' he said.
The peer also reiterated his demand for legally binding targets on child poverty, similar to the net zero law. He plans to push an amendment on the Children's Wellbeing and School Bill in the Lords in the New Year. Lord Bird described these targets as 'KPIs' to measure government progress, saying they would allow the public to judge how well the government is performing.
His comments come after the government published a child poverty strategy earlier in December, which includes expanding free school meals and scrapping the two-child benefit limit, aiming to lift over 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030. However, Lord Bird insisted that more needs to be done, including legally binding targets.
A government spokeswoman said the government is tackling poverty by increasing the national living wage and reducing energy bills, but acknowledged that more must be done. She highlighted the removal of the two-child limit and other measures to bring children out of poverty.
