[UK] Social Deprivation: Youth organisations call for child poverty action

from Young People Magazine

By Dipika Ghose

Youth organisations are calling for a cross-departmental child poverty strategy after figures released last week showed that the Government had failed to meet its first target to reduce child poverty by 25 per cent.

Households Below Average Income figures for 2004-05, released by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), reveal that the Government has achieved a reduction of only 23 per cent since 1998-99, leaving about 3.4 million children still in poverty after housing costs are taken into consideration (YPN, 1-7 March, p8).

Margaret Hodge, minister of state at the DWP, said: "I don't think it's a failure, as we have set ourselves incredibly ambitious targets."

But children's charities including Barnardo's, Save the Children and NCH called for a poverty strategy across government departments to ensure they are on track, along with more non-work related measures to help groups left behind.

Colette Marshall, regional director of UK programmes, Save the Children UK, said the Government had been targeting easier-to-reach young people.

"But there are still a million of the poorest children living within 27 per cent of the median income," she said. "We need a strategy to co-ordinate efforts."

The Institute for Public Policy Research called for an additional £2bn a year investment to ensure the 2010 target of halving and 2020 target of eradicating child poverty are met.

A new minister for social exclusion is expected to drive the agenda forward, said a DWP spokeswoman.