Oona King

"If you want to know how to tackle inequality at home and abroad, then this is a must-read report. Here's what the Director of Policy and Advocacy at Save the Children, Brendan Cox, has to say:

A new report from Save the Children ‘Born Equal - How reducing inequality could give our children a better future,’ looks at how rising inequality hits children hardest. This trend has accompanied economic growth in all countries, and could be tackled in the post-2015 development agenda.

In the report, we find that children are particularly vulnerable to the damaging effects of inequality. New quantitative analysis – undertaken in 32 countries for this report – reveals that inequality is twice as high among children as the general population and its affects can last a life time.
Drawing on eight case studies from Brazil, Canada, China, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and the UK, Born Equal assesses the effects of inequality on child development and considers which policies and interventions have reduced inequality and delivered better outcomes for children.

The report concludes with a number of recommendations. It calls on the international community to place inequality front and centre of the post-2015 development framework. To do this we call for:

• targets that aspire to reach all people (“Zero Goals”), thereby eradicating some of the greatest development challenges such as absolute poverty and preventable child mortality;
• every target to be clearly disaggregated so that equitable progress can be monitored and we can ensure the poorest and most vulnerable people, particularly children, are not being left behind; and
• an income inequality target, to tackle the challenge of rising income gaps.

We also ask that the international community provides the enabling conditions for tackling inequalities, such as sharing lessons about what kinds of social and economic policies can help to ameliorate inequality. A robust accountability mechanism (with a data collection function) and equitable financial investment plans will also be integral for the framework to become a reality in every country.

Regards, Brendan

Brendan Cox
Director of Policy and Advocacy
Save the Children, 1 St John's Lane, London EC1M 4AR

Baroness King of Bow: My Lords, in the short time available, I shall concentrate on two areas: the link between positive child development and early intervention strategies, and the link between early intervention strategies and reducing the economic deficit. I also wanted to discuss the link between poor housing and stunted child development, but time limits mean that will have to wait until another day.

17 March 2011

Baroness King of Bow: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, for securing this debate and especially for her excellent speech, which summarised the benefits of early intervention. I do not believe that it is hyperbole to say that the future of this country rests on whether we implement successful early intervention strategies-certainly, the future of our children rests on it.

Ms Oona King (Bethnal Green and Bow): I am honoured to follow such a commendable speech by the hon. Member for Gainsborough (Mr. Leigh). I welcome the honesty of the speeches that have been made from both sides of the House. The hon. Gentleman said that we must view the matter in terms of what is happening in the real world. Regardless of whether we like change, it has happened. My hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale (Lorna Fitzsimons) and I were both 29 when we were elected to the House, and we can tell hon. Members, in case they had not noticed, that life for our generation has changed beyond recognition. The hon. Member for Altrincham and Sale, West (Mr. Brady) is not so much beyond our age group.