Lords vote in favour of poverty targets

"The House of Lords has voted to keep targets aimed at reducing child poverty, forcing the government to reconsider its plan to abolish them."

"The bishop of Durham, supported by Labour and the Liberal Democrats, led the effort to retain the targets, which measure material poverty, and were set to be scrapped under the welfare reform and work bill."

 

"Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, announced the proposals in July, prompting dismay among child poverty charities."

"He said the government would scrap its measurement of child poverty and the aim to eradicate it by 2020, while replacing it with a new duty to report levels of educational attainment, worklessness and addiction."

"Under his plans, the old measurement, based on the percentage of households with below-average income, would continue to be published as a government statistic but would no longer be seen as a target."

"However, peers voted by 290 to 198 to keep the targets, in a move to prompt the House of Commons to think again."

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jan/25/house-of-lords-keep-income-related-child-poverty-measures