CYP Now - Editorial: The arguments that will defeat child poverty

Gordon Brown, in his speech to the Labour Party conference, reaffirmed his commitment to the goal of eliminating child poverty within a generation. He has a difficult job on his hands, to put it mildly. The halfa-million children that the Labour Government has already lifted out of poverty were the easy ones, living in families just below the poverty threshold. It is going to be much harder to make further progress.

But despite Brown's reaffirmation, there was nothing in the way ofdetail about what the Government is going to do next. Yet there isplenty that it could do.

Campaigners want the Government to link the minimum wage and benefitlevels to the minimum incomes needed for families to live healthily andplay a part in society (see News, p5). This is something the Governmenthas been reluctant to do.

Having brought in the minimum wage, it is keen not to upset business byfollowing up with big increases. And at a Labour conference fringemeeting Des Browne, chief secretary to the Treasury, betrayed thatdepartment's paranoia that increasing unemployment benefits will removethe incentive to work. Yet the Government's focus on getting people intowork does little for those for whom work is never going to be arealistic prospect.

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