Archive: Poverty

Ministers 'drawing back' from child poverty pledge

Caroline Flint insists govt is making progress on child poverty

Gordon Brown has been accused of backing away from his pledge to eradicate child poverty.

Child poverty puts govt inline to miss targets

Budget 2008: Budget 'to tackle' child poverty

Children 'proud' of working parents

Opinion Former Articles

CPAG: Child poverty strategy in disarray from poverty-producing bill

The government has revealed in answer to a parliamentary question that 200,000 children will be pushed into relative income poverty by its bill to cut social security benefits and tax credits in real terms. This results from a restriction of annual uprating to just 1%, which is below inflation.

CPAG: Child Poverty Map of the UK report published by Campaign to End Child Poverty

The Campaign to End Child Poverty has today published new figures that provide a child poverty map of the whole of the UK. The figures are broken down by parliamentary constituency, local authority and ward.

CPAG: Coalition policies to push 600,000 children into absolute poverty by 2015

New analysis for Child Poverty Action Group by Landman Economics has found that an increase of 600,000 children in absolute child poverty is likely between 2010 and 2015.

NEA disappointed that the government has not listened to fuel poverty campaigners

Comments from national fuel poverty charity NEA on Government proposals to change the official definition of fuel poverty

Govt targets £70m to help rough sleepers

More than 100 hostels to be built or improved

A government scheme designed to help rough sleepers into work or training will be expanded after the Department for Communities and Local Government agreed to more funding.

MPs urge reform of council tax benefit

MPs urge govt to improve benefit take-up

Council tax benefit must be made easier to claim, MPs have said.

Labour to fight election on inequality

The Labour government will focus on narrowing the divide between rich and poor if it wins a fourth parliamentary term.

Brown passes more power to local authorities

The government is increasingly devolving power to the local level

The government has announced plans to devolve further powers to local levels in an effort to encourage economic development in the country's poorest areas.

3 million new homes will include social housing

Social housing will feature noticeably in the government's pledge to build three million new homes, ministers have claimed.

Brown 'scraps' super casino plans

Gordon Brown has signalled the beginning of the end for the proposed super casino plans.

Cameron hails marriage cure for broken society

Tories call for married couple tax breaks

David Cameron has reignited the family values debate by claiming marriage could fix the UK's "broken society".

Brown urged to address personal debt

The Liberal Democrats have increased the pressure on the government to address rising levels of personal debt.

Cameron puts 'social justice' at heart of campaign

David Cameron has launched another push to change the image of his party after a month of backbench mutterings and open rebellion.

Stop social exclusion in the womb, Blair says

The government is to identify at risk children in the womb, as part of a bid to tackle the 'hardcore' vestiges of social exclusion.

Things have got better, Blair tells voters

Tony Blair has urged voters to focus on their daily life when assessing Labour's ten years in power.

Brown's economic legacy on a 'fragile high'

Gordon Brown is leaving his ten-year tenure as chancellor "on a high" but risks leaving behind a legacy of debt, an influential economic forecast has concluded.

Hewitt launches 'gimmicky' patient choice website

Disadvantaged groups will benefit most from new government initiatives designed to extend patient choice in the NHS, the health secretary Patricia Hewitt has claimed.

Jowell looks for plan B as Lords reject casinos

Lords rejected Manchester for first super casino

The House of Lords last night voted against the government order on casinos, leaving culture secretary Tessa Jowell struggling to claim plans are "very much alive".

Govt's failed asylum policy 'lacks human decency'

The government's treatment of failed asylum seekers goes against "human decency" and needs to be reformed, a report published today has argued.

Child poverty puts govt inline to miss targets

Blair and Brown pledged to end child poverty

Tony Blair and Gordon Brown are on course to miss their targets on child poverty, as new figures show the number of children in relative poverty has increased.

Cameron puts childhood centre stage

Cameron: Policy should put families first

'Red tape' is stultifying childhood, the Conservatives argued today.

At risk families 'need personalised help'

Armstrong: personalised solution to social exclusion

Families at risk of social exclusion need personalised support from health and social services, ministers have urged.

Spiralling Olympic costs 'will regenerate' east London

The 2012 Olympics will cost more than £9 billion, culture secretary Tessa Jowell announced today, nearly three times the original estimates.

Govt pledges 'relentless focus' on homelessness

Tony Blair has welcomed news that new cases of homelessness have fallen by 20 per cent but warned there is no room for complacency.

Youth homelessness given new priority

Young people forced to leave home are one of the biggest causes of homelessness, the housing minister said today while announcing a raft of new measures to tackle youth homelessness.