David Cameron and Nick Clegg called Field's review 'a hugely welcome contribution' to the debate about poverty, but some of its conclusions do not chime so well with Government policy (see News, page 4).
Field wants much more investment in what he terms the Foundation Years, hoping this name will accord the early stages of a child's life equal status with later years (though some of us thought that the Early Years Foundation Stage had already tried that one!). The Coalition's agenda of cuts and removal of ring-fences for Sure Start does not fit in with this vision at the moment.
He also spoke on the 'Today' programme of taking a more interventionist approach to help children in need - again counter to the Government's promise of less state interference.
Where Field's message may be more convenient, especially just in advance of the Child Poverty strategy being released, is in downgrading income as a way of assessing families' poverty and life chances. This is dangerous indeed, as two new reports illustrate. Unicef's latest survey of developed countries says unequivocally that those with least inequality of income are best for children. And the Joseph Rowntree Foundation's Poverty and Social Exclusion report highlights the growing number of children in working households that are below the poverty line (see News, page 6). These families are set to be worse off under tax credit changes.
