Child poverty strategy lacks ambition, critics tell Labour

The long-awaited child poverty strategy has promised more accessible childcare and an end to families being stuck in bed and breakfasts beyond the legal limit, plans the government said would give all children “a good start in life”.

- MILLIE COOKE

With a record high of 4.45 million children living in poverty in the UK, Sir Keir Starmer said tackling the issue is a "moral mission for me" and described the strategy as one which "sets a new course for national renewal, with children's life chances at its heart".

But campaigners have expressed concern that the strategy does not go far enough, with Big Issue founder John Bird warning against “warm words” and a strategy he said was lacking in "ambitious targets".

The prime minister launched the strategy in Wales yesterday, alongside the Welsh first minister, as he spoke to those likely to benefit from the plans.

Unveiling the long-awaited proposals, the government said failure to tackle child poverty holds back the economy, with young people growing up in these circumstances doing less well in school, being more likely to be unemployed when older and earning less.

But crossbench peer Lord Bird, who experienced poverty as a child, said: "The absence of ambitious targets to propel forward this government's mission to reduce child poverty is deeply concerning. In this challenging economic climate, there is every reason to worry warm words will not translate into tangible progress."

Echoing this, the National Children's Bureau said it wanted to see “binding targets for further reductions over 10 years but this level of ambition is sadly missing”. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the best way to lift children out of poverty is to “grow the economy, make sure that their parents have jobs and that those jobs pay”. She added: “What they did last week was create a budget for benefits. They’ve made some people poorer to give other people on benefits money.