“Solutions are still lacking for children and young people with cancer.” Our response to the Child Poverty Strategy 

“The cost of doing nothing is too high for children” says Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. So, let’s deliver the change children and young people with cancer need, and let’s do it now

Today (Friday 5 December) the UK Government published “Our Children, Our Future”, a strategy for tackling child poverty, which aims to lift 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030.  

The strategy itself shows that child poverty is a clear priority for the UK Government, and we welcome key commitments including scrapping the two-child limit – a vital step to lift children out of poverty. But for children with cancer who often face higher living costs and barriers to support, it must go further. 

In response to the strategy’s publication, Rachel Kirby-Rider, Chief Executive at Young Lives vs Cancer said: 

“No child should live in poverty, yet too many do. It impacts their health, education, wellbeing and potential. A strategy to lift children out of poverty, supporting them and their families, has never been more pressing.  

“For those who are also ill, disabled, or living with a long-term condition, support is all the more needed. Today, the child poverty strategy sets out the problems – but for them, the solutions are still lacking.  

“The strategy recognises the drivers that push children and young people with cancer and their families into poverty – from cuts to social security, to the cost of living, rising costs of essentials, and the financial pressure of caring for a disabled child. It reflects what we know – poverty worsens health outcomes and deepens health inequalities. 

“And it explicitly recognises that even with the NHS being free at the point of access, children and families still face costs when accessing care – particularly the cost of travel to appointments, which is at its highest with long-distance travel to specialist services. 

“These are the issues that children and young people with cancer face every day, yet the practical solutions are still missing. Specialist cancer care can’t be moved into communities, and while the strategy notes the NHS Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme, only 6% of children and young people with cancer can access it – it’s just not working.  

“The solution to this is clear – a Young Cancer Patient Travel Fund must be introduced in the upcoming National Cancer Plan. Failure to do so will continue to leave the majority struggling with travel costs and one in 10 missing or delaying their treatment. It can’t continue.  

“The strategy says that “it’s not right that we have a system where children are penalised through no fault of their own”. No child or young person ever chooses cancer. To meet the ambitions of “a social security system there to support all families whenever they need it”, the government must take a critical look at disability benefits and address the seven-months that young cancer patients wait from diagnosis to receiving vital support – something else missing from this strategy.  

“I agree with the Prime Minister’s words today – “the cost of doing nothing is too high for children”. So let’s deliver the change children and young people with cancer need, and let’s do it now.”  

Young Lives vs Cancer’s first look at the child poverty strategy 

The publication of the child poverty strategy is of itself a marker that this is a critical issue that needs to be addressed. The centrepiece – scrapping the two-child benefit cap will lift hundreds of thousands out of poverty. Other measures, like expanding free school meals and breakfast clubs will have a tangible impact. 

However, we urge the government to government to go beyond these already announced measures, and broaden the ambition to raise all children out of poverty. Crucially, to address the unique needs of children and young people with cancer so that they are not left struggling. 

The strategy clearly highlights the drivers of poverty – from cuts to social security, the ongoing cost of living crisis, and increasing costs of essentials like housing, household bills, health food and transport. These pressures are felt despite most families who are suffering from child poverty having a parent in employment.  

Many measures in the strategy have already been announced, including lifting the two-child benefit cap and free school meals and breakfast clubs, alongside measures in other government legislation including the Employment Rights Bill, 10-Year Health Plan, and Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.  

New commitments in the strategy will be welcomed, like increasing the amount of high-quality temporary accommodation homes through the Local Authority Housing Fund, and improving access to childcare through extending the eligibility for upfront childcare costs to people returning from parental leave from next year, and allowing families on Universal Credit to claim childcare costs for all children.  

However, ultimately, for children and young people with cancer and their families, the practical solutions to the challenges the strategy openly acknowledges are still missing.  

The cost of travelling to treatment and healthcare 

As highlighted in the strategy, poverty increases the risk of poor health outcomes and contributes to health inequalities. It’s essential that financial costs don’t prevent anyone from accessing the treatment and care they need.  

The biggest financial pressure children and young people with cancer and their families face is the cost of travelling to their treatment and care in specialist centres far from home, averaging £250 every month. This leaves the majority struggling and one in 10 miss or delay their treatment as a result.  

The strategy explicitly recognises this issue: “while the NHS is free at the point of access, some children and families experience barriers due to the hidden costs of travel to appointments… Long distance travel to health services exacerbates these issues.” 

However, no real solution is offered. Whilst Neighbourhood Health Services will help some people, children and young people’s cancer care will remain in specialist hospitals and won’t move into communities. The strategy also calls on existing schemes, such as the NHS Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme – but this just isn’t working for children and young people with cancer, with only 6% able to access it, according to Young Lives vs Cancer research.  

There is a clear way for the UK Government to set this right – a Young Cancer Patient Travel Fund must be introduced in the upcoming National Cancer Plan. Failure to do so will continue to leave the majority struggling with travel costs and one in 10 missing or delaying their treatment.

Benefits and carers support 

Welfare benefits are a vital lifeline for many children and young people with cancer and their carers, and as the strategy states, they should have a social security system that “provides the safety net where it is needed”.  

However, children and young people with cancer aren’t receiving the disability benefits they are entitled to until seven-months after their diagnosis, leaving them struggling with the additional costs that come with cancer on their own. For many, this means racking up debt, struggling to pay household bills and being pushed into poverty and without this support, carers are unable to apply for support such as Carers Allowance.  

With no mention of disability benefits at all in the strategy, the UK Government have missed another opportunity to reform the system so that children and young people with cancer have quicker, easier access to the support which at its core is designed to support with the additional, unavoidable costs of living with a disability.  

Acknowledging that parents caring for a disabled child have additional challenges, we hope the upcoming Parental Leave Review and review of the Carer’s Leave Act will listen to the experiences of parents of young cancer patients and provide the time off and income security they need.  

The cost of living  

The rising costs of essentials like housing, energy bills, healthy food, and transport play a key role in poverty, and we agree with the strategy that all families should “be able to afford the essentials that are necessary to give children what they need to learn and grow… a warm and safe home, being fed healthy nourishing meals and being able to fully participate at school.” 

Living with cancer brings additional, unavoidable costs for these essentials for children, young people and their families. Having to find £700 extra every month on top of normal expenditure, when household income is going down, is an impossible task.  

We hope the steps outlined in the strategy, including the new Fuel Poverty Strategy, and efforts to better target support and relief for household utility bills like energy and water, will recognise the families of children and young people with cancer and drive support directly to them that meets their needs.