What are Liberal Democrat policies for tackling child poverty in the UK?
Annette Brooke: Whilst we have supported the government in their commitment to halving child poverty by 2010 we are, as a party, very concerned at their failure to achieve their own targets. Accordingly, we have developed policies that we believe will help those most in need. As I mentioned, much of problem lies in the way in which means tested benefits are constructed as a way of helping families. The take up rates of these benefits are never 100 per cent, often because the application process can be extremely complicated and very daunting. This puts many of the most vulnerable people off claiming. In the most extreme examples we see that the complex system of tax credits has resulted in seven million families being overpaid. The anxiety, debt and insecurity that results from this is too much for too many. As a party we would focus tax credits onto those with lower incomes and return six monthly fixed awards which would deliver greater financial stability to vulnerable families and av
