Assembly action alone not enough to eradicate child poverty

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 10th Jun 2008

Eleanor Burnham, Welsh Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Children and Young People said:

"Whilst I welcome this announcement by the Assembly Government to put child poverty at the top of the agenda, they have been warned many times by various campaign groups, political parties and experts -including the Children's Commissioner - that they are not going to achieve their 2010 target.

"Yesterday's figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show that the number of children living in poverty across the UK has risen for the last two years running. We cannot let this social injustice continue.

"It is shocking that in Wales today 28% of children are living in desperate poverty. Every year we see that this problem is a continual concern for the Children's Commissioner because of the impact of poverty on the lives of people who live in this desperate situation. Children who live in these circumstances are more susceptible to health issues and are deprived of starting life on the right foot.

"I hope that the Assembly Government's plans will start the fight back against child poverty."

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