CYP Now - Analysis: Child poverty - Is childcare the solution to poverty?

CYP Now deputy news editor Cathy Wallace was one of the panellists at a Conservative Party conference fringe event on childcare and child poverty last week. She found plenty of challenges facing the childcare sector and the government.

The facts surrounding child poverty cannot be ignored. In total, 3.8 million children live in poverty in the UK, despite the country having the world's fifth largest economy.

Much has been made of the fact the government has succeeded in lifting 600,000 children out of poverty, but the stark truth remains that 900,000 more children need to be taken out of poverty by 2010 for the government's own, very stringent, targets to be met.

Solution to poverty

Government ministers see childcare as part of the solution to this problem. The theory is clear; get more parents into work and more children will be lifted out of poverty. Providing high-quality, affordable and accessible childcare is crucial to this strategy, and essential to encourage parents back into economic activity.

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