§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the percentage of the United Kingdom population living in poverty; what measures he used in making this calculation; and what measures the Government(a) are implementing and (b) plan to introduce to reduce the numbers living in poverty. [135815]
§ Mr. BayleyPoverty and social exclusion are multi-faceted problems. Therefore we do not use a single definition of poverty but instead use a range of indicators to monitor the progress of our strategy. Information relating to the indicators can be found in the second Government "Opportunity for all" report on tackling poverty and social exclusion "One year on: making a difference" (Cm 4865). The report also describes and monitors the impact of policies we have already introduced, and sets out our plans for the future.