In order to meet its 2010 interim target of cutting child poverty in the UK by half, the government needs to reach a further 700,000 children, it has been revealed. 

Marking the tenth anniversary of the government's pledge to eradicate child poverty, Kate Green, chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, said that helping struggling families will also boost the economy.

"The government is on track to have lifted over a million children out of poverty by 2010 … The toughest part of reaching the 2010 target is done and the final step must now be taken," she maintained. 

Ms Green added: "Helping low income families will also give the economy a badly needed boost."

Figures show that as many as 3.9 million children, the equivalent to one in three, are currently living in poverty in the UK. This is one of the highest rates in the industrialised world.