Dan Paskins
@danpaskins.bsky.social
Save the Children UK Exec Director - UK Impact
Vice-Chair, End Child Poverty
Chair, Civic Power Fund
Vice-Chair, End Child Poverty
Chair, Civic Power Fund
Reposted by Dan Paskins
Are you a developer, local authority, designer or community organisation seeking to embed children’s rights, needs & voices into planning & placemaking?
These case studies, developed by the TCPA with A Place in Childhood, deliver inspiration plus practical learning & knowledge: shorturl.at/JE2G8
These case studies, developed by the TCPA with A Place in Childhood, deliver inspiration plus practical learning & knowledge: shorturl.at/JE2G8
November 11, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Are you a developer, local authority, designer or community organisation seeking to embed children’s rights, needs & voices into planning & placemaking?
These case studies, developed by the TCPA with A Place in Childhood, deliver inspiration plus practical learning & knowledge: shorturl.at/JE2G8
These case studies, developed by the TCPA with A Place in Childhood, deliver inspiration plus practical learning & knowledge: shorturl.at/JE2G8
Reposted by Dan Paskins
Was honoured to speak at the 60th anniversary of the Child Poverty Action Group last week:
open.substack.com/pub/alisonmc...
open.substack.com/pub/alisonmc...
speech for 60th anniversary of Child Poverty Action Group
[Edited slightly for ease of reading]
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Was honoured to speak at the 60th anniversary of the Child Poverty Action Group last week:
open.substack.com/pub/alisonmc...
open.substack.com/pub/alisonmc...
Reposted by Dan Paskins
Great to hear the Chancellor make the common sense case for removing the 2 child limit.⬇️ We've seen positive first steps & clear commitment to tackling poverty in their first year. Now we need bold action in the Budget to give children a fair start & reduce the need for emergency food.
November 10, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Great to hear the Chancellor make the common sense case for removing the 2 child limit.⬇️ We've seen positive first steps & clear commitment to tackling poverty in their first year. Now we need bold action in the Budget to give children a fair start & reduce the need for emergency food.
Reposted by Dan Paskins
The two child cap is a test of the government’s seriousness: if you are serious about child poverty, you lift it, and if you are serious about not wasting money, you don’t fritter away cash on dumb things like vouchers to try and manage the PLP.
If the government chooses to keep the 2 child limit and spend money on vouchers and parenting programmes instead, child poverty will rise and this will be a conscious and deliberate political choice in defiance of all the evidence
Scrapping the cap entirely is both good policy *and* good politics.
Half measures will "save" some money short-term, but will piss *everybody* off and still leave very large numbers of children suffering from a policy designed to make them poorer.
inews.co.uk/news/politic...
Half measures will "save" some money short-term, but will piss *everybody* off and still leave very large numbers of children suffering from a policy designed to make them poorer.
inews.co.uk/news/politic...
November 10, 2025 at 12:59 PM
The two child cap is a test of the government’s seriousness: if you are serious about child poverty, you lift it, and if you are serious about not wasting money, you don’t fritter away cash on dumb things like vouchers to try and manage the PLP.
Reposted by Dan Paskins
'You've got to treat children equally… You don't tell a child who's the third child, you're gonna have half the time at school. You don't tell them that the fourth child is going to have a third of the time.'
- Gordon Brown on scrapping the two-child limit for all kids.
- Gordon Brown on scrapping the two-child limit for all kids.
November 10, 2025 at 9:27 AM
'You've got to treat children equally… You don't tell a child who's the third child, you're gonna have half the time at school. You don't tell them that the fourth child is going to have a third of the time.'
- Gordon Brown on scrapping the two-child limit for all kids.
- Gordon Brown on scrapping the two-child limit for all kids.
Reposted by Dan Paskins
This is not the time for half measures.
@alexclegg.bsky.social explains why the Government should fully repeal the two child limit on benefits, as part of their upcoming Child Poverty Strategy ⤵️
@alexclegg.bsky.social explains why the Government should fully repeal the two child limit on benefits, as part of their upcoming Child Poverty Strategy ⤵️
November 10, 2025 at 9:35 AM
This is not the time for half measures.
@alexclegg.bsky.social explains why the Government should fully repeal the two child limit on benefits, as part of their upcoming Child Poverty Strategy ⤵️
@alexclegg.bsky.social explains why the Government should fully repeal the two child limit on benefits, as part of their upcoming Child Poverty Strategy ⤵️
If the government chooses to keep the 2 child limit and spend money on vouchers and parenting programmes instead, child poverty will rise and this will be a conscious and deliberate political choice in defiance of all the evidence
Scrapping the cap entirely is both good policy *and* good politics.
Half measures will "save" some money short-term, but will piss *everybody* off and still leave very large numbers of children suffering from a policy designed to make them poorer.
inews.co.uk/news/politic...
Half measures will "save" some money short-term, but will piss *everybody* off and still leave very large numbers of children suffering from a policy designed to make them poorer.
inews.co.uk/news/politic...
Food vouchers, free milk and two-child cap: Reeves weighs up help for families
Ministers' long-awaited child poverty strategy is due this month - and it's closely tied to the Chancellor's Budget
inews.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 9:17 AM
If the government chooses to keep the 2 child limit and spend money on vouchers and parenting programmes instead, child poverty will rise and this will be a conscious and deliberate political choice in defiance of all the evidence
Reposted by Dan Paskins
We must become advocates of hope.
Ambassadors of hope.
Agents of hope.
We must get the message across that it is possible to end child poverty.
We are determined to eradicate it.
We will work harder and harder to do so, and we will not give up.
- Rt Hon Gordon Brown speaking at our 60th
Ambassadors of hope.
Agents of hope.
We must get the message across that it is possible to end child poverty.
We are determined to eradicate it.
We will work harder and harder to do so, and we will not give up.
- Rt Hon Gordon Brown speaking at our 60th
November 9, 2025 at 11:26 AM
We must become advocates of hope.
Ambassadors of hope.
Agents of hope.
We must get the message across that it is possible to end child poverty.
We are determined to eradicate it.
We will work harder and harder to do so, and we will not give up.
- Rt Hon Gordon Brown speaking at our 60th
Ambassadors of hope.
Agents of hope.
We must get the message across that it is possible to end child poverty.
We are determined to eradicate it.
We will work harder and harder to do so, and we will not give up.
- Rt Hon Gordon Brown speaking at our 60th
Reposted by Dan Paskins
You can’t cut child poverty without scrapping the two child benefit limit, and you can’t be a Labour government if you preside over rising child poverty. Me for @labourlist.bsky.social on the route to getting done what Labour must get done. labourlist.org/2025/11/gord...
'Gordon Brown, Labour MPs, and voters agree: Act on child poverty now' - LabourList
Gordon Brown, Labour MPs and the public agree - tax gambling companies and end child poverty now.
labourlist.org
November 9, 2025 at 10:23 AM
You can’t cut child poverty without scrapping the two child benefit limit, and you can’t be a Labour government if you preside over rising child poverty. Me for @labourlist.bsky.social on the route to getting done what Labour must get done. labourlist.org/2025/11/gord...
Reposted by Dan Paskins
Family hubs like Honeyhill in Peterborough offer vital early years support – but they face an uphill battle against deepening poverty.
Inside the vital family hubs helping parents as child poverty crisis worsens
www.bigissue.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:28 AM
Family hubs like Honeyhill in Peterborough offer vital early years support – but they face an uphill battle against deepening poverty.
Reposted by Dan Paskins
Our new analysis shows how many children could be lifted out of poverty by 2029/30 if the two-child limit on Universal Credit would be abolished:
England: 626,022 children
Scotland: 51,036 children
Wales: 54,722 children
NI: 9,791 children
#EndChildPoverty
England: 626,022 children
Scotland: 51,036 children
Wales: 54,722 children
NI: 9,791 children
#EndChildPoverty
November 4, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Our new analysis shows how many children could be lifted out of poverty by 2029/30 if the two-child limit on Universal Credit would be abolished:
England: 626,022 children
Scotland: 51,036 children
Wales: 54,722 children
NI: 9,791 children
#EndChildPoverty
England: 626,022 children
Scotland: 51,036 children
Wales: 54,722 children
NI: 9,791 children
#EndChildPoverty
Reposted by Dan Paskins
Excellent to see @juliaunwin.bsky.social named as the government’s preferred candidate for Charity Commission chair — thoughtful, experienced, and exactly what the sector needs.
www.gov.uk/government/n...
www.gov.uk/government/n...
Government announces preferred candidate for the Charity Commission for England and Wales Chair
Dame Julia Unwin is the Government’s preferred candidate for the Charity Commission for England and Wales Chair, the Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy announced today.
www.gov.uk
November 3, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Excellent to see @juliaunwin.bsky.social named as the government’s preferred candidate for Charity Commission chair — thoughtful, experienced, and exactly what the sector needs.
www.gov.uk/government/n...
www.gov.uk/government/n...
Reposted by Dan Paskins
e.g. “this mother has worked a part time job in order to be home when her kids get back from school. She is now divorced and her ex is consistently unreliable in paying his CSA or alimony” - that is not a problem that her employer can solve! Cash transfers are part of the answer here.
November 3, 2025 at 5:01 PM
e.g. “this mother has worked a part time job in order to be home when her kids get back from school. She is now divorced and her ex is consistently unreliable in paying his CSA or alimony” - that is not a problem that her employer can solve! Cash transfers are part of the answer here.
Reposted by Dan Paskins
Scrapping the two-child limit in full is the most cost-effective way to reduce the number of children living in poverty, pound for pound. So when the chancellor is facing difficult decisions, it doesn’t make sense to implement a less efficient half-measure.
www.lbc.co.uk/article/rach...
www.lbc.co.uk/article/rach...
Rachel Reeves can’t build a fair economy on hungry children | LBC
The only way the Government will reduce child poverty is to scrap the two-child benefit cap, writes Alison Garnham.
www.lbc.co.uk
November 3, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Scrapping the two-child limit in full is the most cost-effective way to reduce the number of children living in poverty, pound for pound. So when the chancellor is facing difficult decisions, it doesn’t make sense to implement a less efficient half-measure.
www.lbc.co.uk/article/rach...
www.lbc.co.uk/article/rach...
Reposted by Dan Paskins
I can’t envisage a child poverty strategy which garners any credibility without fully scrapping the two-child limit.
Unconvinced? Check out (even better share) this summary of the peer-reviewed evidence base @kittyjstewart.bsky.social @aaronreeves.bsky.social
largerfamilies.study/publications...
Unconvinced? Check out (even better share) this summary of the peer-reviewed evidence base @kittyjstewart.bsky.social @aaronreeves.bsky.social
largerfamilies.study/publications...
November 1, 2025 at 4:37 PM
I can’t envisage a child poverty strategy which garners any credibility without fully scrapping the two-child limit.
Unconvinced? Check out (even better share) this summary of the peer-reviewed evidence base @kittyjstewart.bsky.social @aaronreeves.bsky.social
largerfamilies.study/publications...
Unconvinced? Check out (even better share) this summary of the peer-reviewed evidence base @kittyjstewart.bsky.social @aaronreeves.bsky.social
largerfamilies.study/publications...
Reposted by Dan Paskins
A partial lifting of the two-child limit at the Autumn Budget would still leave child poverty rising and would risk creating levels of hardship not seen under a Labour government for more than half a century.
It must be scrapped *in full*.
It must be scrapped *in full*.
Only full abolition of two-child benefit cap will substantially cut poverty, thinktank says
Only full abolition of two-child benefit cap will substantially cut poverty, thinktank says
Half-measures would have little or no meaningful impact on child poverty rates, Resolution Foundation analysis finds
Failure to abolish the two-child benefit limit would wreck the government’s child poverty ambitions and risk creating levels of hardship not seen under a Labour government for more than half a century, an analysis warns.
The Resolution Foundation said political courage was required for ministers to show they are serious about reversing trends that, if not addressed, would push the rate of child poverty to a historic high by the end of the decade. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
October 30, 2025 at 1:51 PM
A partial lifting of the two-child limit at the Autumn Budget would still leave child poverty rising and would risk creating levels of hardship not seen under a Labour government for more than half a century.
It must be scrapped *in full*.
It must be scrapped *in full*.
Reposted by Dan Paskins
As things stand, child poverty is on track to reach record highs by 2029-30.
By then, we predict that more than one-in-three British children (34 per cent) would be growing up in poverty.
That's the highest rate of child poverty we'd have seen since 1961 ⤵️ buff.ly/qVc9CWs
By then, we predict that more than one-in-three British children (34 per cent) would be growing up in poverty.
That's the highest rate of child poverty we'd have seen since 1961 ⤵️ buff.ly/qVc9CWs
October 30, 2025 at 8:30 AM
As things stand, child poverty is on track to reach record highs by 2029-30.
By then, we predict that more than one-in-three British children (34 per cent) would be growing up in poverty.
That's the highest rate of child poverty we'd have seen since 1961 ⤵️ buff.ly/qVc9CWs
By then, we predict that more than one-in-three British children (34 per cent) would be growing up in poverty.
That's the highest rate of child poverty we'd have seen since 1961 ⤵️ buff.ly/qVc9CWs
Reposted by Dan Paskins
New post out:
"The worst social policy ever"
Today we have a guest post from @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social on the abomination that is the two-child limit and why Labour need to scrap it ASAP.
Lots of data but also powerful testimony.
(Free to read)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...
"The worst social policy ever"
Today we have a guest post from @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social on the abomination that is the two-child limit and why Labour need to scrap it ASAP.
Lots of data but also powerful testimony.
(Free to read)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...
"The worst social policy ever"
We have a couple of bonus guest posts over the next week.
open.substack.com
October 30, 2025 at 8:27 AM
New post out:
"The worst social policy ever"
Today we have a guest post from @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social on the abomination that is the two-child limit and why Labour need to scrap it ASAP.
Lots of data but also powerful testimony.
(Free to read)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...
"The worst social policy ever"
Today we have a guest post from @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social on the abomination that is the two-child limit and why Labour need to scrap it ASAP.
Lots of data but also powerful testimony.
(Free to read)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...
Reposted by Dan Paskins
Let's argue about whether it's more effective to fight hunger and poverty or climate pollution once we have exhausted the many ways to fight both at once.
Bill Gates makes a stunning claim about climate change
His essay comes ahead of next month's COP30, a global summit focused on battling climate change.
www.rnz.co.nz
October 29, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Let's argue about whether it's more effective to fight hunger and poverty or climate pollution once we have exhausted the many ways to fight both at once.
Reposted by Dan Paskins
What you see is pretty striking. While there, it's dwarfed by punishment for failure on public realm, cost of living and - strikingly - child poverty.
This is *especially true with Labour 2024 voters*. On the reward side, NHS again salient.
This is *especially true with Labour 2024 voters*. On the reward side, NHS again salient.
October 29, 2025 at 9:10 AM
What you see is pretty striking. While there, it's dwarfed by punishment for failure on public realm, cost of living and - strikingly - child poverty.
This is *especially true with Labour 2024 voters*. On the reward side, NHS again salient.
This is *especially true with Labour 2024 voters*. On the reward side, NHS again salient.
Reposted by Dan Paskins
So good to see stories like this being told. These young people from west Belfast produced TikTok films to highlight issues of poverty in their community. We were to support them but they schooled us in how to produce video content! www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/norther...
Youths create TikTok films to highlight issues of poverty
The short films, produced and edited by the young people, highlight issues such as the cost of living, pressures for single parents and prejudices the teenagers say they experience
www.belfastlive.co.uk
October 29, 2025 at 9:10 AM
So good to see stories like this being told. These young people from west Belfast produced TikTok films to highlight issues of poverty in their community. We were to support them but they schooled us in how to produce video content! www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/norther...
Reposted by Dan Paskins
How do we turn bureaucratic services and systems into something more human? A new long read 👇
New today! Disassembling bureaucracy - and assembling something better.
We know we need to make bureaucratic services more human. But how? A long-read, using a fascinating case study. With bonus caterpillars.
medium.com/@jamestplunk...
We know we need to make bureaucratic services more human. But how? A long-read, using a fascinating case study. With bonus caterpillars.
medium.com/@jamestplunk...
Disassembling bureaucracy
And reassembling something better
medium.com
October 29, 2025 at 7:38 AM
How do we turn bureaucratic services and systems into something more human? A new long read 👇
Great article by @katieschmuecker.bsky.social
We increased Universal Credit by £20/week during the Covid-19 pandemic, and if we'd kept that policy in place then UC could actually meet people's needs.
Some policy problems are difficult, this isn't one of them.
We increased Universal Credit by £20/week during the Covid-19 pandemic, and if we'd kept that policy in place then UC could actually meet people's needs.
Some policy problems are difficult, this isn't one of them.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation estimates that universal credit will still fall short by around £1,000 a year per person
Universal credit is set to rise – but not by enough
www.bigissue.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Great article by @katieschmuecker.bsky.social
We increased Universal Credit by £20/week during the Covid-19 pandemic, and if we'd kept that policy in place then UC could actually meet people's needs.
Some policy problems are difficult, this isn't one of them.
We increased Universal Credit by £20/week during the Covid-19 pandemic, and if we'd kept that policy in place then UC could actually meet people's needs.
Some policy problems are difficult, this isn't one of them.
Reposted by Dan Paskins
Get your Expressions of Interest in for our Transforming Early Years in east Belfast opportunity: this fund offers £5,000 for projects aimed at children 0-5 years and their parents/caregivers. For more info: eastsideelc.org.uk/innovation-f... close November 11th, 4pm.
October 28, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Get your Expressions of Interest in for our Transforming Early Years in east Belfast opportunity: this fund offers £5,000 for projects aimed at children 0-5 years and their parents/caregivers. For more info: eastsideelc.org.uk/innovation-f... close November 11th, 4pm.