Commenting on a report by Barnados, It Doesn't Happen Here: The reality of child poverty in the UK, Lorely Burt MP, equality spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats said:
"The Government is running out of ideas to reduce child poverty.
"With child poverty increasing last year, the Government is doomed to miss its 2010 target unless it radically rethinks how it supports Britain's poorest families.
"The fall in social mobility between the 1970s and today is especially concerning. Combating child poverty is about more than just moving people above an arbitrary income line.
"We must create a long-term strategy to ensure that for children born into poor families, growing up in poverty does not become a life sentence."