To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures his Department has taken to reduce child poverty in Coventry south since 1997. (80586)

The Government’s strategy to reduce child poverty was set out in the ‘Child Poverty Review’, published in July 2004. It consists of:

financial support for families, with more support for those who need it most, when they need it most;

work for those who can, helping parents participate in the labour market;

tackling material deprivation;

delivering high quality public services that improve children’s life chances.

Across the UK, these measures have helped 700,000 children out of poverty, since 1998-99. Tax credits are benefiting more than 420,000 families in the West Midlands region, and in Coventry South claimant unemployment has fallen by over 30 per cent. since 1997.