This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/7066838.stm

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Child poverty unit plan unveiled Child poverty unit plan unveiled
(about 5 hours later)
Plans for a dedicated Child Poverty Unit aimed at meeting the government's target of halving child poverty by 2010 are to be unveiled by ministers.Plans for a dedicated Child Poverty Unit aimed at meeting the government's target of halving child poverty by 2010 are to be unveiled by ministers.
The government says it has helped 600,000 out of poverty but a million more must be aided to meet the target.The government says it has helped 600,000 out of poverty but a million more must be aided to meet the target.
The unit will try to achieve this by better co-ordination of efforts by government and other agencies.The unit will try to achieve this by better co-ordination of efforts by government and other agencies.
The Child Poverty Action Group has said there is "no way" the 2010 target will be met on current rates of spending.The Child Poverty Action Group has said there is "no way" the 2010 target will be met on current rates of spending.
Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain will announce the plans at a conference organised by charity Barnardos.
He will say there is more to poverty than material deprivation and that it requires a clear, cross-government approach to eradicate it.
WHO IS POOR? Household income less than 60% of median for similar householdsCouple with two children - net income less than £332pw before housing costsLone parent with one child - net income less than £217pw before housing costs Source: DWP Fears over child poverty target
The government aims to "break cycles of deprivation" by improving health and education and getting parents working.The government aims to "break cycles of deprivation" by improving health and education and getting parents working.
'Moral imperative'
Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain said a clear, cross-government approach was needed to eradicate poverty.
The new unit, which will involve officials from the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Children, Schools and Families, will work closely with the Treasury, local government and other government agencies and provide a single point of contact on child poverty issues.The new unit, which will involve officials from the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Children, Schools and Families, will work closely with the Treasury, local government and other government agencies and provide a single point of contact on child poverty issues.
Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, said: "Ending child poverty is a simple moral imperative; it has no place in modern Britain. There has been an enormous programme of social reform over the past 10 years that has lifted 600,000 children out of poverty - but this must accelerate, not plateau. WHO IS POOR? Household income less than 60% of median for similar householdsCouple with two children - net income less than £332pw before housing costsLone parent with one child - net income less than £217pw before housing costs Source: DWP class="" href="/1/hi/uk/7054286.stm">Fears over child poverty target
"The Child Poverty Unit renews our commitment to eradicating child poverty. By working across government we can think and act strategically, share expertise and join up resources to help end child poverty." Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, said ending child poverty was a "moral imperative" and it was important that past success did not "plateau".
Mr Hain said: "The Child Poverty Unit will spearhead the government's fight against the blight of child poverty, bringing departments and stakeholders together so we can better child on the success that has already been achieved." Mr Hain admitted halving child poverty by 2010 would be tough, but said the new unit would be at the forefront of efforts to reduce it by bringing departments and others involved together to build on previous successes.
"We do have to do more and that's the purpose of this poverty unit within Whitehall," Mr Hain told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
A major part of the plan will be to get single parents back into work.A major part of the plan will be to get single parents back into work.
But Mr Hain told BBC Radio Five Live "this will not be a forced regime where, regardless of circumstances, you have to work". 'More bureaucracy'
But Mr Hain said "this will not be a forced regime where, regardless of circumstances, you have to work".
He said: "Individual family circumstances will have to be taken into account - if there's a disabled child for example - and, more important than any of this, the childcare, affordable childcare, needs to be available."He said: "Individual family circumstances will have to be taken into account - if there's a disabled child for example - and, more important than any of this, the childcare, affordable childcare, needs to be available."
Last week Kate Green, head of the Child Poverty Action Group, said on current rates of spending on tax credits and benefits: "There's no way the government is going to halve child poverty by the end of the decade." The Conservatives dismissed the unit as an initiative "designed to catch the headlines".
She added: "It's not enough to have aspirations - you have to meet them too." Shadow work and pensions secretary Chris Grayling said: "The truth is the number of children living in poverty is going up not down, and ministers are failing to get to grips with the issues that underlie child poverty, like the escalation of family breakdown."
The Liberal Democrats called for an immediate increase in child benefit, and resources for educating the most disadvantaged children.
Spokesman Danny Alexander said: "Less bureaucracy is needed to end child poverty, not more. At the current disgracefully slow pace, child poverty will not be abolished until 2049."