[UK] Childcare expert recruited as poverty tsar

from The Guardian

Will Woodward, chief political correspondent

A child poverty tsar is being appointed to reinvigorate the government's efforts to reach one of its key targets. Lisa Harker, former chair of childcare lobbyists the Daycare Trust, is to act as an independent adviser amid concerns that the goals of halving child poverty by 2010 and ending it by 2020 will be missed.

The government failed to reach an interim target of cutting child poverty by a quarter by 2005. Ms Harker has been called in ahead of a welfare reform bill, due next month, which will announce details of a "carrot and stick" approach, to encourage parents to seek jobs. The Department of Work and Pensions will deliver a strategy on tackling child poverty in the autumn.

Part of her brief will be looking at how to involve the voluntary and private sectors in tackling child poverty. "I genuinely don't believe we can personalise welfare from Whitehall," Mr Murphy said. "I think it's got to be grassroots up."

In the past Ms Harker has criticised the government for being "risk-averse" over backing innovative schemes, calling for a national campaign on child poverty, and for benefits for pregnant women.

The welfare reform bill will enshrine the plans unveiled in a green paper which replace incapacity benefit with an employment and support allowance. This benefit will give more money to those judged permanently incapable of working and require those thought capable of doing some work, now or in the future, to undergo training. The bill will announce new conditions covering benefits for single parents, including a requirement to attend back-to-work interviews.