John Leech MP supports Save the Children's campaign to end severe child poverty in the UK

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 8th Feb 2006

John Leech, the MP for Manchester Withington, has lent his support to a Parliamentary campaign to tackle child poverty in the UK.

Up to one million children in Britain are living in severe and persistent poverty. This means a family of two adults and two children living on about £132 a week. Save the Children's recent report, Britain's Poorest Children Revisited, shows that there has been little or no improvement in the percentage of children living in severe poverty in England, Scotland and Wales. Additional action is needed if the Government is to meet its target of eradicating child poverty by 2020.

John Leech MP is supporting Save the Children's declaration in the form of an Early Day Motion which calls on the Government to:

- measure the number of children living in severe and persistent poverty.

- commit to a strategy to end poverty that explicitly targets children.

John Leech MP said:

"I am happy to support Save the Children's campaign to end child poverty in the UK. It is vital the Government adopts a strategy to address severe and persistent child poverty if it wants to achieve its target of ending child poverty by 2020."

Save the Children UK Director, Colette Marshall, said:

"People find it difficult to accept there is poverty in Britain. But the reality is 1 in 10 children are experiencing severe poverty - that means going without a nutritious meal or new clothes when they are needed, such as a warm winter coat or a pair of shoes. Such inequality spells bad news for our whole society. We are pleased that John Leech MP has added his voice to Save the Children's campaign. The Government must adopt a plan that recognises the needs of all children living in poverty, to ensure that the very poorest don't slip through the net. Until the Government measures severe poverty it cannot target its policies to those most in need."

The public can join the campaign on this website: www.savethechildren.org.uk/campaign

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For more information please contact:

John Leech MP - 0161 434 3334

Save the Children Press Office - 0207 012 6841

Notes to Editors

· Save the Children fights for children in the UK and around the world who suffer from poverty, disease, injustice and violence. We work with them to find lifelong answers to the problems they face.

· For more information about Save the Children, please visit the website: www.savethechildren.org.uk