§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent developments have taken place in the United Kingdom to reduce child poverty.[25904]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithThe Government are committed to abolishing child poverty within a generation and halving it by 2010. In support of this, it recently published a strategy document on child poverty, "Tackling Child Poverty—giving every child the best possible start in life", which will inform the Budget and Spending Review 2002.
The Government's strategy involves:
helping to ensure a decent family income, with work for those who can and support for those who can't;delivering excellent public services for all neighbourhoods and targeted interventions for those with additional needs;supporting parents so that they can provide better support for their children; andharnessing the power and expertise of the voluntary and community sectors, providing support for innovation and good practice and building strategic partnerships with these sectors to fight child poverty.As a result of personal tax and benefit measures announced in the last Parliament, it is estimated that there are 1.2 million fewer children in poverty than would otherwise have been the case. The Government have also made substantial new investments in services for children. Over the four years to 2004, average real-terms annual growth in spending on education and training in England will be over 5.5 per cent. In addition, extra funds have been made available for SureStart, Neighbourhood Renewal and the Children's Fund.