Released on: 19 July 2011
In welcoming the report from the Family and Parenting Institute, ‘Families in an age of austerity – how tax and benefit reform will affect UK Families’, Belinda Phipps, Chief Executive, NCT, says:
"We are very worried about how hard the new year's public expenditure cuts will hit new and expectant parents, and this latest report adds weight to these concerns.
"Having a baby is expensive business; clothes, toys, equipment, food and nappies all cost money that parents have to find from somewhere. Plus, we know parents feel under commercial pressure to buy new products for their child - an Ipsos MORI survey commissioned by NCT found three quarters of parents and expectant parents say they feel there is too much pressure to buy unnecessary baby products. It seems parents are going to be in the red before 2011 has even properly started.
"We want new families to be free from being pulled apart by the struggle to meet their financial needs and feel able to meet the needs of their baby. We now need to see a more supportive environment for families in the UK before it’s too late to repair the damage later on down the line."
