09/06/2014

UK Child Poverty Plans 'Doomed To Fail'

A watchdog headed by the former health secretary Alan Milburn has said the UK's plans for tackling child poverty are "doomed” to fail" and warned of figures showing there will be 3.5 million children in poverty in Britain by 2020.

Ministers said the government remained committed to ending child poverty and that it has pledged to cut the number to 10% by 2020.

However, the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission report said the draft strategy for the next three years is a "missed opportunity" and urged politicians to work together.

Mr Milburn said the draft child poverty strategy was a "farce" and "particularly lamentable".

He said: "Our new research shows that the gap between the objective of making child poverty history and the reality is becoming ever wider. Across the political spectrum, party leaders now need to come clean about what they plan to do to hit the targets, or what progress they can deliver if they expect to fall short."

(CVS/IT)

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