Eradicating child poverty must remain top priority

As ever, it was great to meet so many colleagues from across Europe. This year, the theme of the 18th annual conference was the impact of austerity and poverty on the realisation of children's rights. Wales now has the highest rate of child poverty in the UK, with one in three of our children living in relative poverty. With so many funding cuts, it was timely to discuss this topic.

It also followed hot on the heels of two recent reports reminding us all of the real threats that children face as austerity bites and more children and young people find themselves living in poverty. The Unicef report, Children of the Recession: The Impact of the Economic Crisis on Child Wellbeing in Rich Countries, provides an international perspective, and the UK Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission makes for very sobering reading in its State of the Nation 2014 Report.