17 October 2006 - Hutton: ‘Second earners key to tackling child poverty’
The latest edition of the annual cross-Government report Opportunity for All is published today to mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
This year the document has a special focus on child poverty in the UK bringing together progress so far as well as indicating where the Government has more to do.
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions John Hutton said: “We have achieved impressive reductions in the number of children living in poverty so far, with a drop of 700,000 compared to 1997.
“But we need to renew our efforts if we are to meet our historic target to halve child poverty by 2010. We must now focus on families where one parent works but the family remains in poverty. Almost half of all children in poverty are in households in which at least one adult works. The majority of these are couple families.
“ That is why I am reviewing my department’s child poverty strategy – we need to do more to ensure that we continue to help more children out of poverty and support families in the years ahead.”
Some of the key findings of OfA on child poverty are:
- In 2004/05 there were 2.4 million children in Britain living in poverty – 700,000 less than in 1997.
- The proportion of children spending a large number of years in poverty has declined, from 17% in 2000 to 13% by 2004.
- Just over half of children in poverty live in households where no one works.
- Around two fifths of poor children live in lone parent families, the majority of whom are without work.
- One fifth of poor children live with both parents where both are out of work.
- The number of children living in households with unemployed adults has dropped from 18.4% in 1997 to 15.3% in 2006.
- There are now record numbers of people in work, including more than one million lone parents (312,000 more than in 1997).
- The Government’s target to get 70% of lone parents into work by 2010 would lift a further 200,000 children out of poverty.
- Almost half of all children in poverty are in households in which at least one adult works, the majority of which are couple families. This can be down to low pay or a low number of hours worked.
- Over a tenth of all children in poverty live in a couple household with just one full-time earner.
The Government is determined to do more to improve people’s prospects and to ensure it does pay to work.
Mr Hutton said: “We have not been complacent on this front. As a result of tax credits, benefit reforms and the minimum wage, the poorest families with children are now on average £3,350 per year better off.
“Only by offering everyone of every generation the opportunity and support to fulfil their potential can we realise our goal of ending child poverty.”
Notes to editor
- This is the Eighth Annual Report on Opportunity for All.
- Opportunity for All was first published in September 1999. It is a cross Government report setting out our progress in tackling poverty and social exclusion and looking ahead to how we can build on this. It includes indicators against which the Government’s success is measured.
- This year’s report is made up of two documents. The first lays out progress made across Government in all areas as well as a specific chapter focussing on child poverty. The second document contains all the information on indicators used to monitor our strategy.
- There are 59 indicators in total, 40 of which show we are moving in the right direction since the first set of indicators since the baseline which for most is 1997. A further nine show a broadly constant trend, seven show the data is moving in the wrong direction and for three we cannot determine a trend.
- Both documents are available from around 10am today on the DWP website at www.dwp.gov.uk/ofa
- Since 1996/97 there are 700,000 fewer children living in relative low income before housing costs, and around 440,000 fewer children in households where no one works. Since 1996/97 there are 800,000 fewer children are living in relative low income after housing costs.
- The target to halve child poverty by 2010 and eradicate it by 2020 was set with the baseline of 1998/99. Since 1998/99 there are 700,000 fewer children in poverty, both before and after housing costs.
- Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform Jim Murphy’s blog in which he talks about Opportunity for All can be accessed at www.dwp.gov.uk/welfarereform/blog/. The blog went live yesterday, Monday October 16.
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