Recommendation 20

Past income-based targets for child poverty have helped to focus minds across Government. But, like all targets, they can ‘distort’ the policy response, and some witnesses believed that this happened in the final years of the 2010/11 child poverty target as the emphasis shifted towards income transfers. To counter this risk, it is important to have a broad set of targets covering income and other policy measures. The Government must also be committed to reducing child poverty, with a clear strategy which is supported by measurable objectives and strong delivery plans.