"It's crucial the government gets the child poverty strategy right. This is a landmark opportunity to set a truly transformative agenda for long-term change, but in an increasingly challenging economic climate there is every reason to worry warm words will not translate into tangible progress. Targets will provide much-needed benchmarks to track progress and keep driving action forward. The government's reticence so far has left us worried they're looking to dodge this vital layer of scrutiny."
"The actor Emilia Clarke, the broadcaster Chris Packham and the presenter George Clarke have put their names to the letter, coordinated by the Big Issue founder John Bird, stating that the government's reluctance to set binding child poverty reduction targets has rung alarm bells. Leading anti-poverty and children's charities including the National Children's Bureau, Child Poverty Action Group, Amnesty UK, Barnardo's and the food bank charity Trussell have all backed the call, as well as MPs and peers representing Labour, Greens and the SNP."
Celebrities, MPs and children's charities have signed an open letter urging the government to set targets for reducing child poverty in the UK. Signatories include Emilia Clarke, Chris Packham, George Clarke, and many charities such as the National Children's Bureau, Child Poverty Action Group, Amnesty UK, Barnardo's and Trussell. Signatories warn that the government's reluctance to set binding targets risks avoiding scrutiny and that targets would provide benchmarks to track progress. Lord Bird proposed an amendment to place a duty on the government to set legally binding child poverty targets, but the amendment was rejected at committee stage in June. The education minister argued targets could narrowly focus policy.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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