DWP’s child poverty priority welcomed

Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton’s announcement that tackling child poverty would be his department’s “number one priority” has been welcomed by a leading charity.

The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) was responding to Mr Hutton’s speech to the Fabian Society today on ending child poverty and transforming life chances. CPAG’s Chief Executive Kate Green said:

“We warmly welcome John Hutton’s commitment to making child poverty the number one priority for his department. Tackling child poverty needs to be a top priority across the whole of central government and we hope that the new Cabinet Minister for Social Exclusion Hilary Armstrong can use her clout to drive this agenda forward across all departments and in local government which also has a crucial role to play.

“700,000 children have been lifted out of poverty in the last six years, but with the clock ticking away on the ambitious target to halve child poverty by 2010, we look forward to seeing a strategy for faster progress when it is published in the autumn.

“When more than half of poor children live in households with one or more parents in paid employment, Mr Hutton’s signal that in-work poverty has to be tackled is very encouraging. At the same time benefit levels for those who will never be able to work must be raised to at least the level of the poverty line.”

For further information from CPAG please contact:
Alex Belardinelli
CPAG Press Officer
Tel. 020 7812 5216 or 07816 909302
abelardinelli@cpag.org.uk