20 April 2007
A leading champion of children's rights has castigated the government for complacency over its commitment to eradicate child poverty.
In a speech delivered to the Public Management and Policy Association on April 18, Martin Narey, the chief executive of Barnardo's, said that while there were 700,000 fewer children living in poverty than in 1997, progress had stalled.
Narey said: 'There is no escaping an impression that the government believe they have done enough.
Or at least that doing any more is too difficult and too expensive.'
Narey widened his criticism to encompass other parties which, while signed up to the commitment to eradicate child poverty by 2020, had no strategy for doing so.
An honest acknowledgement that the target will not be met, backed by a convincing plan to reduce poverty might be preferable, he suggested.
Narey also challenged what he said was the accepted wisdom that eradicating child poverty was no longer affordable: 'If we can afford the Olympics… we can most certainly afford to halve child poverty.'
PFapr2007
