The government should reconsider its proposed measure of child poverty and move with the tide of expert opinion

The government has proposed a new measure of child poverty which would combine information on eight aspects of a child’s life into one measure, moving away from the income-based approach. However, as the government’s consultation made clear, there is little support for a single, multi-dimensional, measure of child poverty that is conceptually flawed and would obscure rather than illuminate. Mike Brewer explores the reactions to the proposal and presents his own recommendations on how the government should move forward.