The Shadow Minister for Children and Early Years, Tulip Siddiq, has given a damning assessment of how the government is currently treating children who need support.

Speaking at the Housing Management Network annual conference, Siddiq said that “children have paid a very heavy price during the pandemic and lockdowns”.

Referencing the increasing levels of poor mental health, education struggles and more, she said the pandemic exacerbated the issues that existed before it.

Talking of the cuts the Government has made to children’s services, she said that “children deserve better” and said that cuts to early intervention programmes in particular has seen “children slipping through the cracks”.

She added: “This is only damaging the life chances of children and makes little economic sense. If we are not solving these issues early, they are far more costly when they build up down the line”.

The MP for Hampstead and Kilburn said that bold action was needed to tackle these issues but the current government plan “is not ambitious”.

On housing, Siddiq said that 80% of her casework is on housing and the number one topic that comes up when she speaks to constituents is housing.

She added: “Unless we get our ducks in a row and fix housing, expect many problems to get worse.”

Having many of her own constituents in private rented housing, she said the increase in costs in this tenure “has pushed many families into poverty”.

“No parent should live in fear about whether they are able to keep a rent over their children’s head,” she added.

The Shadow Minister spoke about how she feels the country has “gone backwards on child poverty” and that she is worried that “things will get even worse with the cost of living crisis over the winter”.

Concluding, she said: “Children need a lot more that buzz words, they need action. If we want children to reach their full potential, we need investment. We cannot afford to do nothing; we have to have the government take action”