Nursery World - 'JobCentres should link to children's centres'

All children's centres should have a strong link to JobCentre Plus to help lift families out of poverty, the Government's child poverty tsar said last week. Lisa Harker, who was previously chair of the Daycare Trust, was asked to review the Department of Work and Pensions' role in reducing child poverty.

Lisa Harker, who was previously chair of the Daycre Trust, was asked to review the Department of Work and Pensions' role in reducing child poverty.

The review report, Delivering on Child Poverty: what would it take?, calls for more family- focused employment opportunities and draws attention to the poverty of low-income working families.

Ms Harker said, 'There needs to be an orientation in welfare-to-work policies towards helping families and taking into account the particular needs of parents. The presumption should be that they need help finding childcare. Another priority is to reach potential second earners and get them into work.'

Around 40 per cent of children in poverty live with two parents where at least one works.

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