Government hands back EU funding to tackle child poverty unspent Peers attacked the ‘extraordinary’ failure to spend the money allocated for tackling child poverty

The UK government has failed to spend any of the £3.57 million in EU funding that it was granted to tackle child poverty.

Peers hit out at the government’s failure to spend the money, awarded under a European Union scheme to tackle child poverty, homelessness and food deprivation.

Of the £3.57 million funding allocated to the UK for the 2014-2020 period, £930,000 has already been handed back unspent.

The i politics newsletter cut through the noise Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription.

The UK is now at risk of giving up a further £540,000 under an impending spending deadline.

In a letter to Home Office minister Victoria Atkins, ex-Conservative peer Lord Boswell of Aynho hit out at government’s “extraordinary” failure to find a use for the money, given the growing problem of child poverty.

Astonishing failure

The peer, who heads the European Union Committee in the House of Lords, voiced “disappointment that it has taken so long” for the government to come up with a plan for the funding, which comes from the EU’s Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) programme.

Crossbench peer Lord Jay of Ewelme also condemned the “astonishing” failure, adding: “The government had an opportunity to help support the most disadvantaged people in the UK but has instead wasted over half a million pounds of its FEAD allocation through its inability to develop a suitable project.”

The Home Office said that initial plans to spend the money on school breakfast clubs for underprivileged children had been hindered by “extensive audit requirements, procurement requirements and administrative costs” and failed to gain approval.

Ms Atkins told the committee that a plan is now being developed to spend the remainder of the UK’s allocation on a new programme to support young refugees and potential victims of modern slavery.

However, Lord Jay warned that “the clock is ticking” for the next spending deadline.

No-deal Brexit funding

The committee also called on the government to replace the funding, which will be lost if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.



Read More The bedroom pictures which show what child poverty actually looks like

Lord Jay said: “With the prospect of a ‘no deal’ Brexit on the horizon, the Committee has called for urgent clarity on how this would affect the UK’s access to FEAD money.”

In February, a study found that child poverty is at risk of hitting record levels.

One in three children already live in poverty, but the report from the Resolution Foundation warned that 37 per cent of children expected to be living in relative poverty by 2022.