Child povery: everybody's business

2007 saw the establishment of a Child Poverty Unit to integrate strategy across government towards the targets of halving child poverty by 2010 and eradicating it totally by 2020. March 2008 saw the release of the overall strategy in the paper Ending child poverty: everybody's business.

Key points:
- The paper sets out the wide range of causes of poverty which are dynamic and influential at various levels (individual, family, neighbourhood) showing that the one strategy will not reach all of the children. Work is seen as the best root out of poverty, but this does not always work.

- The costs of child poverty are significant, not only to the child themselves, but to the wider society and economy.

- Government strategies such as sure start, school standards and others have helped improve the life chances of children in poverty. However, not all strategies have had the intended full impact and there is more to do.

- The final section indicates what the government will do next. The theme is on a "contract" between the parent and the state. The state will increase opportunity (such as opportunity to take up employment, increased childcare places etc.) and expect that parents will use these opportunities. Most of the section refers to changes in benefit payments and employment opportunities but there is also mention of improving the professional skills of all children's service staff so they can address poverty and ensuring children's trusts can focus on poverty.