Wondering what our reaction is to today's Autumn Budget 🤔? Our CEO @MoazzamTMalik explains how it will impact children in the UK and around the world.

It's disappointing that the UK looks set to miss its international development investment target of 0.3% of national income. The UK's development budget has been continually cut to help plug holes for other government priorities - and now, it's estimated that 62 million fewer people will be supported by UK aid around the world in 2026 and 2027. This will mean less investment in health, education and other critical services for children. Health centres will close, lessons will stop and children's futures will change course. When the Labour Government announced that Official Development Assistance would be cut to 0.3%, it committed to ensuring that this would be the floor, with the intention to increase it again over time. This must hold true if the government is serious about rebuilding its international reputation and addressing the global challenges that are having severe and disproportionate impacts on children. Preventing investment from going any lower than our 0.3% floor is a major test of the government's commitment to international cooperation. It's essential they do all that they can to ensure it doesn't. Read more: bit.ly/4iIosVa

One year on from the fall of El Fasher, children are continuing to bear the heaviest burden of the conflict in Sudan. Every day, children are being killed and injured as violence continues, and grave violations of children’s rights are being reported across the country. Homes, schools and health facilities have been damaged or destroyed, stripping children of safety, education, care, and any sense of normal life. The conflict has also devastated food supplies and disrupted humanitarian access, leaving children facing severe hunger and malnutrition. This is why it is so important for the UK to make Sudan a priority. Today's actions are welcome, including support for victims of sexual violence and joint international efforts to prevent famine in Sudan. The UK Government must continue to take all possible action to end the conflict and protect children.

We are appalled by the news that drone strikes across Sudan over the last three days have reportedly killed at least 13 children. Three children were reportedly killed after a drone hit a house in Khartoum on Monday, while over the weekend, drone attacks killed at least 19, including 10 children, and injured others across West Darfur, South Darfur and North Kordofan States. Since the conflict started over three years ago, it's been reported that drones have been used in over 1,000 attacks, killing civilians including children. Children are not only caught in the crossfire but in many cases, they are directly targeted or suffer the long-term consequences of conflict. They should not be paying the price for a conflict they did not create. These horrors must not be normalised. The UK Government must: 🔴 Pressure warring parties - and their international backers - to end the violence 🔴 Prioritise protecting children in Sudan, including from drones 🔴 Hold those who harm children accountable

The Children’s Commissioner for England is right to highlight the current 'childhood lottery'. For years we've been pressing the UK Government about unacceptable levels of child poverty and that there are pockets of deep, deep, poverty that should shame us all. Scrapping the two-child limit to benefits was a good start in tackling this but there is more ministers can do to give all children a better start in life. Government should now move at pace to deliver more money and power to local authorities and mayors through devolution, and provide greater support for babies and children in their earliest years.

Great to hear the Foreign Secretary @Ed_Miliband share the Government’s priorities for the G20 Presidency next year, including on tackling unsustainable debt, at the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund this morning. With some African countries spending three times more on debt repayments than education, tangible action on debt could support millions of children to go through school. Next year, the UK has a real opportunity to champion a fairer financial system to help provide urgent and life-saving relief to millions of children – it must take it. Read our full statement: bit.ly/3VLjePB

Lots of reporting about this today, including on BBC Panorama starting at 8pm tonight. Worth pointing out that we’re still waiting for the £2.5 billion from the 2022 sale of Chelsea Football Club to be released. At a time of global aid cuts, rising food insecurity and growing humanitarian needs, this money could make a transformative difference to the children and families around the world.  The ball is in the government’s court. With new ministers at FCDO, hopefully we will see decisive action to finally put an end to this saga.

Five children were reportedly killed yesterday after a missile struck an apartment block in northern Ukraine, destroying 30 flats as families slept. Three of the children were one-year-olds. These children had names. Their lives mattered. They were, and still are, someone's everything: their entire universe. Every one of these children's families will grieve for them for the rest of their lives. All parties to this conflict must uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law. In other words: Stop. Killing. Children.

The Conservatives have announced that they would slash foreign aid to fund 50,000 new prison places. Our Executive Director for Global Impact, @Georgewgraham sets out three reasons why we shouldn't cut aid any further in less than 60 seconds on @Mattallwright Watch now 👇

This announcement would be a welcome step towards universal childcare. Families earning above this arbitrary threshold face a punishing cliff edge in order to access childcare. We support any free, high quality universal childcare. We urge the government and all political parties to work towards this goal.

This is a reductive way of talking about aid. In a turbulent global context, with conflict, the climate crisis, and cost-of-living affecting children in the UK and across the world, we need to be prioritising international cooperation to address these challenges, not stepping back. The UK’s aid budget is a valuable investment both in children globally and children round the corner, keeping us all more safe, but also tells the world what country we want to be on the world stage - a willing and values driven partner. While difficult spending decisions must be made by any government, short-term spending decisions domestically at the expense of the role the UK internationally damages our reputation and standing in the world, leaving us all worse off.

Great to hear from @Ed_Miliband at Labour Party Conference, acknowledging the campaigning impact of our team, and the role @Moreincommon_ play in bridging the gap between leaders and the public. As he said: "If you think about all the great advancements we’ve seen... it’s not just because nice politicians came along, it’s because people demanded change.” There’s power in campaigning ❤️

We welcome the Prime Minister's commitment to bring hope for young people around the corner and around the world. His focus on communities, social security and local action could be transformative for children growing up in poverty across the UK. Globally, the Government's new approach to the occupied Palestinian territory signals a welcome change of direction. Now we need to see UK leadership to fight for children everywhere.

Today’s speech was a powerful recognition of all those who have spoken out on the suffering in the occupied Palestinian territory, where the Foreign Secretary’s change of approach has already led to stronger action to protect children. This must be the beginning and not the end. It was encouraging to hear that the world’s largest humanitarian crisis in Sudan will be a priority. The UK Government must continue doing more of what is right for children around the world and around the corner.

Lifting 150,000 children out of poverty in six months is something to celebrate. It proves scrapping the two-child limit to Universal Credit was exactly the right choice for the UK Government to make. Without it, children would remain in poverty - a record no political party should want.

At least eight children have reportedly been killed today following the collapse of a six or seven story building damaged by an earlier Israeli strike in Gaza City. The building had been bombed previously and displaced families were living there due to a lack of available shelter. The Civil Defence warned that some 2,000 damaged buildings, currently sheltering large numbers of people, are at risk of collapse. As rescuers comb through the rubble, some digging with their bare hands, Israeli restrictions on the entry of essential machinery and rescue equipment are directly hampering efforts to reach people trapped beneath the rubble, putting more lives at risk. These restrictions must be lifted immediately. The UK Government must do everything in its power to pressure the Government of Israel to lift them.

The Development Minister's declaration that she is a ‘huge believer in aid’ is welcome. We know that aid saves lives, protects childhoods, and makes the world a safer and more prosperous place. It is important that the UK Government has recognised this too. Reductions in UK aid have already had devastating consequences for children during a time of increased global instability, where floods, wildfires and wars dominate news headlines daily. The Minister rightly highlights that investments in children matter, and we look forward to ensuring that promises on new partnerships and reform of international bodies happen in a way that mean children’s futures are prioritised.  Funding for anticipatory action for countries at risk of El Niño is welcome but a pathway back to increased ODA is needed. The intention to put development and climate at the heart of British policy is a vital first step. We live in an interconnected world where global issues are also UK issues. We must play a key role in building a more stable future for children everywhere.  bit.ly/46jbdDx

Save the Children UK welcomes today's announcement from @Ed_Miliband, which represents a decisive shift in the UK Government's approach to the occupied Palestinian territory. We support the Foreign Secretary's commitment to ensure the UK are not “bystanders to further suffering”. Banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank is an important step and shows that the new UK Government is prepared to put its words into action and do things differently. Settler violence and settlement expansion represent one of the biggest threats to Palestinian children living under Israel's occupation. Children and families are living under constant fear of attacks by state-backed Israeli settlers, who have burned homes, attacked schools, and committed violent assaults and intimidation at gunpoint. We look forward to working with the Government to ensure this is the beginning – not the end – of stronger action to protect Palestinian children and end Israel's impunity for its ongoing atrocities across both the West Bank and Gaza, where Palestinian children continue to endure a level of violence, deprivation and displacement that no child should ever experience.

🚨 NEW: The oil price shock unleashed by the conflict in the Middle East threatens aid for 1.5 million children, our analysis shows. Every spike in fuel prices drives up the cost of every truck, every shipment, every box of supplies we deliver around the world. Despite the extreme challenges and rising costs, our teams are working around the clock to find alternative and cost-effective ways to deliver essential supplies and ensure we reach children where it is needed the most. theguardian.com/business/202…

Fresh off the back of narrating our new animated short film 'Elephant In The Room', actor Himesh Patel spoke to the @BigIssue about the huge impact poverty has had on children over the summer and what Save the Children is doing about it. Read more 👇 bigissue.com/culture/the-ody…