Savings Accounts and Health in Pregnancy Grant Bill

Part of the debate – in a Public Bill Committee at 5:30 pm on 2 November 2010.

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Anne Longfield: The number of families who are having real concerns and problems with their finances at the moment—we know from our own children’s centres that the demand for debt counselling sessions, advice, support about finances and debt financing is high—means that this is an issue which is not a luxury for most families. It is absolute reality for an awful lot of families. The value of this method is that it tackles that at the birth of a child. You have a window there, where all families would say that they want to do the best for their children. They are prepared to make sacrifices at that point, and we can harness that. The habits that they can get into really will build a valuable asset for the future, so the answer to your question is yes. Also, that is what families want to do; they want to get into those habits.

We all know that those families who are just coping have, in the main, the best possible intentions, but life events knock them off course. A loss of housing here, a relationship difficulty here, problems with work or loss of a job there, mean that those good intentions often get knocked sideways and can constantly set people back. The beauty of this is that it sets people up in a way that they can build on at their own pace and in their own way, and they can really invest for their children’s future. On the anecdote about the school being able to use this, the fact that the fund is part of life for all children means that it becomes part of the grain of the way that people live. Schools can use that within their own lessons, confident that it affects all children.