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Responding to the Frank Field review into poverty, The Foundation Years, published today (Friday), TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:

'There are some welcome ideas in the report, and Frank Field is right to emphasise the importance of children's early years, and we agree that anti-poverty policy should pay more attention to the health and well-being of babies and toddlers.

'But the reportunderstates the importance of families' incomes. The biggest problem faced by poor people is still that they haven't got enough money and face debts that put intolerable strains on their finances.

'We have reached a critical point in the debate about poverty, inequality and welfare in Britain. We remain a country with an exceptional level of economic inequality that needs significant fundamental structural change and government investment.

'Deciding not to spend money on meeting the 2020 target to end child poverty is a political choice, not an economic one.'

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The TUC is a member of the End Child Poverty coalition. The Campaign to End Child Poverty includes children's and other charities, social justice groups, faith groups, unions, businesses and many others concerned about the unacceptably high levels of child poverty in the UK. For information visit:
 www.endchildpoverty.org.uk

Frank Field review into poverty, The Foundation Years

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