Latest child poverty plans revealed
Cathy Wallace
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The government has announced more details of its latest measures to tackle child poverty.
Last week it was revealed the number of children living in poverty had risen for the second year running, despite the government’s pledge to eradicate child poverty by 2020.
The new measures include a £5m extension of current in-work credit pilots to give financial incentives for parents to return to work. Children’s centres in 30 local authority areas will be given a share of £7.6m to help parents back into training and work.
Money will also be put into extending London’s Childcare Affordability Programme and the government has promised £10m to help parents in London overcome barriers to going back to work such as high transport or childcare costs.
Local authorities will also be able to get a share of £20m in grants to do their own work on tackling child poverty in rural and deprived areas in a new series of pilots.
Children’s secretary Ed Balls said: “We are absolutely determined to end child poverty, stop poverty passing from one generation to the next and increase social mobility.”
However, Chris Grayling, shadow work and pensions secretary, said the government had run out of ideas on tackling child poverty. "All we’ve heard is a series of re-announcements and small-scale pilot projects that will make virtually no difference to child poverty,” he said.
The new measures include a £5m extension of current in-work credit pilots to give financial incentives for parents to return to work. Children’s centres in 30 local authority areas will be given a share of £7.6m to help parents back into training and work.
Money will also be put into extending London’s Childcare Affordability Programme and the government has promised £10m to help parents in London overcome barriers to going back to work such as high transport or childcare costs.
Local authorities will also be able to get a share of £20m in grants to do their own work on tackling child poverty in rural and deprived areas in a new series of pilots.
Children’s secretary Ed Balls said: “We are absolutely determined to end child poverty, stop poverty passing from one generation to the next and increase social mobility.”
However, Chris Grayling, shadow work and pensions secretary, said the government had run out of ideas on tackling child poverty. "All we’ve heard is a series of re-announcements and small-scale pilot projects that will make virtually no difference to child poverty,” he said.
