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| Alan Milburn: child poverty targets sure to be missed | Alan Milburn: child poverty targets sure to be missed |
| (5 days later) | |
| Ministers' plans to reduce the importance of income in measuring child poverty are today sharply criticised by their own official adviser on child poverty. | Ministers' plans to reduce the importance of income in measuring child poverty are today sharply criticised by their own official adviser on child poverty. |
| Alan Milburn, the ex-Labour minister turned coalition adviser, calls on the government to rethink its plans and even start on a fresh consultation, saying its current proposals are muddled and unclear. | Alan Milburn, the ex-Labour minister turned coalition adviser, calls on the government to rethink its plans and even start on a fresh consultation, saying its current proposals are muddled and unclear. |
| Ministers are committed by law to try to abolish by 2020 child poverty measured by the number of children living in households below 60% of median income. | |
| The government is consulting on proposals to introduce a suite of other measures designed to reflect the deeper causes of poverty, including the quality of school education and the stability of family relationships. | The government is consulting on proposals to introduce a suite of other measures designed to reflect the deeper causes of poverty, including the quality of school education and the stability of family relationships. |
| In its formal submission to the government consultation, Milburn's social mobility and child poverty commission says it "looks to the government to make a clear commitment to maintain the centrality of income in measuring poverty and to clarify its position on the targets enshrined in the Child Poverty Act 2010". | In its formal submission to the government consultation, Milburn's social mobility and child poverty commission says it "looks to the government to make a clear commitment to maintain the centrality of income in measuring poverty and to clarify its position on the targets enshrined in the Child Poverty Act 2010". |
| It adds: "It now seems vanishingly unlikely [sic] that this government will hit the targets in the Child Poverty Act." | It adds: "It now seems vanishingly unlikely [sic] that this government will hit the targets in the Child Poverty Act." |
| Milburn's commission's submission insists that the government should not abandon the target. It : "The current measures enshrined in the Child Poverty Actsays the provide clear accountability and facilitate international comparisons. The relative poverty measurement is regarded globally as a critical means of benchmarking developed countries' performance." | Milburn's commission's submission insists that the government should not abandon the target. It : "The current measures enshrined in the Child Poverty Actsays the provide clear accountability and facilitate international comparisons. The relative poverty measurement is regarded globally as a critical means of benchmarking developed countries' performance." |
| Milburn also urges the government to rethink its whole child poverty strategy, saying: "Without clarity about how the government intends to meet the 2020 targets, however, it risks a repeat of what it has rightly criticised the previous administration for – an approach to meeting child poverty commitments that was incremental rather than being informed by a clear, long-term plan." | Milburn also urges the government to rethink its whole child poverty strategy, saying: "Without clarity about how the government intends to meet the 2020 targets, however, it risks a repeat of what it has rightly criticised the previous administration for – an approach to meeting child poverty commitments that was incremental rather than being informed by a clear, long-term plan." |
| Ministers, both Conservative and Liberal Democrat, have criticised the relative income measure, saying it leads to a targeting of tax credits to help income groups close to the abitrary officially defined poverty line, rather than dealing with the fundamental issues of the cause of child poverty. | Ministers, both Conservative and Liberal Democrat, have criticised the relative income measure, saying it leads to a targeting of tax credits to help income groups close to the abitrary officially defined poverty line, rather than dealing with the fundamental issues of the cause of child poverty. |
| Milburn, citing research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, rejects this claim, saying the evidence shows that, "on the contrary, the reduction in child poverty was very similar for all poverty lines between 55% and 75% of median household incomes". | Milburn, citing research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, rejects this claim, saying the evidence shows that, "on the contrary, the reduction in child poverty was very similar for all poverty lines between 55% and 75% of median household incomes". |
| Milburn was appointed chair of the social mobility and child poverty commission by David Cameron. He was a key Blairite in the Labour government, and his rejection of the coalition's plans will be embarrassing for a government that likes to cite Blairite endorsements for its policies. | Milburn was appointed chair of the social mobility and child poverty commission by David Cameron. He was a key Blairite in the Labour government, and his rejection of the coalition's plans will be embarrassing for a government that likes to cite Blairite endorsements for its policies. |
| The submission says: "The choice of poverty measure is not a technocratic decision: it is partly driven by the fundamental assumptions that are made about poverty." | The submission says: "The choice of poverty measure is not a technocratic decision: it is partly driven by the fundamental assumptions that are made about poverty." |
| Milburn claims the government's proposals "conflate the causes and the consequences of poverty in a way that is likely to be confusing. Factors like poor parental skills or family stability are distinct from the lived experience of poverty, which includes factors like low income, material deprivation, poor housing and debt." | Milburn claims the government's proposals "conflate the causes and the consequences of poverty in a way that is likely to be confusing. Factors like poor parental skills or family stability are distinct from the lived experience of poverty, which includes factors like low income, material deprivation, poor housing and debt." |
| The submission says: "Having parents with low education is not, in our view, however, part of the experience of poverty because it does not in itself affect children's current standards of living apart from through its potential effect on income." | The submission says: "Having parents with low education is not, in our view, however, part of the experience of poverty because it does not in itself affect children's current standards of living apart from through its potential effect on income." |
| The commission does suggest some changes to the proposed supplementary targets, for example, that poverty measures should count benefits in kind, such as housing and childcare (where – perversely – spending does not necessarily show up in reduced-income poverty even if it is saving poor families money).· | The commission does suggest some changes to the proposed supplementary targets, for example, that poverty measures should count benefits in kind, such as housing and childcare (where – perversely – spending does not necessarily show up in reduced-income poverty even if it is saving poor families money).· |
| He also suggests that ministers look at measuring the depth of poverty, saying the current severe poverty measure could be strengthened. | He also suggests that ministers look at measuring the depth of poverty, saying the current severe poverty measure could be strengthened. |
| • This article was amended on 27 March 2013 to clarify that ministers are committed by law to try to abolish by 2020 child poverty measured by the number of children living in households below 60% of median income. |