Paul Dornan, editor of a report published last week by the Child Poverty Action Group, said, 'The progress the Government has made is encouraging.
Income poverty has been falling, as has material deprivation. Yet we still endure unacceptably high levels of child poverty.'
In the report, Ending child poverty: The first five years, Tess Ridge of the University of Bath said that while Sure Start has a clear child focus, other initiatives 'have tended to be directed towards children as adults of the future, rather than as children with their own issues and concerns'.
Ms Ridge said, 'Future government policies need to respond to the pressing issues and concerns of children who are poor now.'
Meanwhile the Daycare Trust and the Maternity Alliance have jointly published a report urging the Government to make pregnancy and the first year of a child's life a key priority in tackling child poverty. Their report, Creating real choices, said that one in three UK households experience a fall in living standards when they have a baby, and up to one in six fall into poverty as a result. A woman with one child could expect to lose 8 per cent of her income, while women who have two children could face a 24 per cent wage drop.
The report called for an extension of earnings-related statutory maternity pay to seven months, with the long-term aim of providing a full year's earnings-related leave, an increase in statutory paternity pay to 90 per cent of average earnings for all fathers, widening of tax credit eligibility to cover the whole maternity leave, greater rights to flexible working and better childcare services.
Lisa Harker of the Daycare Trust said that increasing and improving the provision of childcare can play a key role in reducing poverty, but this cannot be left to the market because 'quality childcare is priced at levels beyond the reach of low-income families'.
She noted that, as a proportion of its Gross Domestic Product, Denmark spends nearly six times more than the UK on early years services, and she argued for substantial investment and easier access to childcare tax credits.