While the government officially abolishes child poverty, things are getting worse

At a stroke, the Government is about to abolish the concept, if not the reality, of child and working poverty. But a crisis is looming.

By Alison Garnham

(Photo By Rochdale's Failinge estate, where 4 out of 5 children live in poverty. Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty Image)

If the Government goes ahead with its plans to redefine child poverty then it will be turning its backs on poor children and on the past.

No redefinition can hide the reality that the Government’s child poverty strategy is failing. It was only a year ago that Iain Duncan Smith was claiming the child poverty targets would be met but last week’s child poverty statistics showed that absolute child poverty has risen by half a million since 2010 and that progress on relative poverty has stalled.