CYP Now - Child poverty: Tory policy chief backs 2020 goal but rules out benefit increases

The Conservative Party announced last week that it was committed to the Government's target of ending child poverty by 2020. But MP Oliver Letwin, chairman of the party's policy review, said he did not believe further increases in child benefits and tax credits were the way to reach the target.

In an exclusive interview with Children Now, Letwin said that though thetax credit system had a role to play, redistributing money would notsolve the problems of the most deprived families.

"We recognise that the tax credit system has to be part of the answer,but our argument is that there is a group of children who are growing upin families that are not getting in-work tax credits," he said. "Dealingwith deep deprivation is not done by being cleverer about the way wedistribute money."

Letwin said the Conservatives had the "beginnings of some ideas" abouthow to tackle the problem of child poverty. Among Letwin's proposals isto increase the number of drug- and alcohol-addicted young peopleundergoing rehabilitation 10-fold. He said: "We should not be puttingdrug-dependent young people into prison."

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