The figures, the Households Below Average Income Statistics, published last week by the Office for National Statistics, show that in 2000-01, 3.9 million children were in poverty, a fall of 500,000 since 1996-97. But the Government had claimed to have lifted 1.2 million children out of relative income poverty during its first term of office.
The Child Poverty Action Group described the figures as 'deeply depressing'
and criticised the Government for presenting as a fact a forecast of a reduction in the number of children living in poverty. CPAG director Martin Barnes said the Government was wrong to have done so and added, 'When Tony Blair pledged to eradicate child poverty the Government firmly nailed its colours to the Household Below Average Incomes measure. If it now moves the goalposts in using a different measure of poverty, it risks losing credibility.'
He said the Government's pledge to lift one million children out of poverty within the next three years could only be achieved by improving the incomes of low-income families.
But Alastair Darling, work and pensions secretary, rejected the criticism and said the figures showed that people in the bottom fifth income bracket had seen their household incomes rise 'significantly' since 1997. 'In the four years to 2000-01 the incomes of the poorest 20 per cent of society grew at the same rate as the best off 20 per cent. For the previous 18 years the picture was very different,' he said.
He added, 'Over 4 million fewer people now live below the "absolute poverty" threshold we established at the beginning of our period in office. That's 1.4 million fewer children living in absolute poverty.'
The Institute for Fiscal Studies pointed out that average incomes have risen since 1996-97, raising the poverty line. It said that if the Government had chosen a fixed poverty line rather than one that increased each year with average incomes, the fall in child poverty would be around 1.3 million.
