§ 23. Mr. HopeTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what progress the Government are making in tackling child poverty. [115887]
§ Mr. BayleyWe have pledged to eradicate child poverty over the next 20 years and to halve it within 10 years. We are making good progress. Our £7 billion tax and benefit package will lift 1.2 million children out of poverty. And by helping parents back into work we are tackling the biggest cause of child poverty.
§ 35. Mr. Gordon MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the impact to date of Government measures to reduce child poverty in the north-west of England. [115900]
§ Mr. BayleyWe are committed to halving child poverty over the next 10 years and to eradicating it within 20 years. And this strategy covers all regions of the UK.
Child poverty is a problem which has built up over generations and it will take time to eradicate. But we are already making substantial progress. Our £7 billion tax and benefit package will lift 1.2 million children out of poverty. As a result, the poorest two-child families will be £1,500 a year better off in 2001 than they were in 1997.
334WPoverty is multi-dimensional. It is characterised not just by low income, but also by factors such as poor educational attainment, poor housing and deprived communities. It is about the lack of opportunity and aspiration. That is why we are investing heavily in measures to provide children with a better start in life and to increase the opportunities to allow them to break out of the cycle of deprivation.
We are prepared to be judged on our results. We set out our indicators for tackling poverty in "Opportunity for all" (Cmd. 4445) and we will report progress against these in the autumn.