Government challenged over failure to implement act fully and likely deviation from markers that measure social mobility
Child poverty campaigners have written to the government warning ministers that they have broken a legal commitment to implement the Child Poverty Act fully.
Charities have also expressed concern that the government could be moving away from having clear financial targets which can measure whether child poverty is being reduced.
The Child Poverty Act says the government should have published a strategy by 25 March, setting out how it would tackle child poverty, and that an independent commission should have been set up to advise on its preparation.
The strategy is due to be published on 4 April but the commission has not been established.
Alison Garnham, chief executive of Child Poverty Action Group, said: "We are astonished to find the government flouting legal requirements set by parliament and supported by all the ministers responsible for the strategy when the legislation was passed. The independent commission is crucial to ensuring ministerial accountability for an evidence-based and comprehensive child poverty strategy.
" One of the prime minster's great promises before he entered office was to 'make British poverty history'. When the child poverty strategy is published we are calling for a clear commitment from government on the urgent establishment of the child poverty commission and implementation of the act in full."
In a report to the government last month, children's charity Barnardo's also expressed unease about the government's approach to implementing the act. "We are extremely disappointed that the government has not produced a strategy for consultation and has failed to establish and consult with an independent commission, which is vital for holding government to account," the report stated.
Charities will be scrutinising the strategy to see if it indicates a departure from assessing child poverty according to family income, and a move towards broader, harder to track criteria, such as quality of parenting.
In the past few months the government has commissioned from Labour MPs two reviews, into child poverty and improvement of life chances for children. The MPs, Frank Field and Graham Allen, each advised a shift away from financial targets alone and towards greater concentration on improving parenting and early intervention with families considered in need.
But campaigners stress that financial targets are the best way of ensuring children are brought out of poverty.
Barnardo's chief executive, Anne Marie Carrie, said: "Money matters, which is why we believe that income-based child poverty targets have an important role to play in measuring social mobility."
Campaigners were dismayed to find no mention of child poverty targets in the chancellor's budget speech last month, and that the budget contained nothing specifically targeted to help families with children.
Gareth Jenkins, of Save the Children's UK child poverty programme, said 1.6 million children were growing up in severe poverty "without a warm home and enough food and proper clothing". He added: "The budget didn't deliver any new action to help the poorest families so the [new] child poverty strategy is their last chance to get that help. Any strategy to end child poverty in a way that lasts must channel jobs, paying a decent living wage, into the poorest areas and provide help with childcare."
There was also concern that local authority cuts were already affecting children's services.
Family Action's head of policy and campaigns, Rhian Beynon, said: "Poor and disadvantaged families need a combination of effective services and financial support to give their children a decent start in life. But already early intervention services, such as those offered by Family Action, have been cut around the country, and welfare cuts and reforms will slash the financial help vulnerable families get." In a statement, the Department of Work and Pensions said a
commission would be established at some point in the future, and
details would be given this week."The facts are that despite throwing millions of pounds at this
problem, in the last several years Child Poverty in the UK remained
static, whilst contributory factors like worklessness were left
unchallenged meaning 5.8 million adults are in poverty. Our strategy
will bring together the work of serveral departments to help improve
the life chances for children and through the universal credit alone,
we expect to lift 350,000 children out of poverty and 200,000 children
out of the severest poverty. Overall Universal Credit will help nearly
1 million people out of poverty and with the Work Programme we will
see more people come out of that depressing cycle of worklessness and
benefit dependency."