§ Mr. GoodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what response he has made to recent representations from Zaccheus 2000. [118906]
§ Malcolm WicksBoth Ministers and officials from the Department have received numerous representations from the Zaccheus Trust. The majority of these representations centre on the issue of "budget standards" and minimum incomes.
In the most recent response, of 4 June 2003, my right hon. and noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Baroness Hollis of Heigham, responded to an inquiry from the Trust dated 16 May. This inquiry was regarding our 'Measuring Child Poverty—Preliminary Conclusions' document, copies of which are available in the Library.
My right hon. and noble Friend responded to the inquiry by confirming that the recently published preliminary conclusions encompassed the views of those who formally responded to the original 'Measuring Child Poverty' consultation exercise. Baroness Hollis stated that several respondents to the consultation had included views on budget standards" and they were therefore properly reflected in the response analysis and also in the conclusions set out in the document.
My right hon. and noble Friend also reiterated, as stated in the response document, that further methodical work will be carried out before finalising any new approach to measuring child poverty in the long term.