Only a few weeks ago, a Unicef report (pdf) that found Britain's children had the worst wellbeing out of 21 of the world's wealthiest nations was met with widespread shock and public dismay. Now there's more bad news as we learn that child poverty has risen by 100,000 children. More than one in four British children are now in poverty.
It is particularly depressing that when the Unicef report was published, although the situation was grim, we thought were at least moving in the right direction - albeit not as fast as needed. But now it seems we have taken a step backwards and, for the first time in six years, child poverty has increased.
The government has two main pillars to its child poverty strategy: increasing parental employment and increasing incomes for the poorest families through tax credits. The new figures now make clear what many of us have warned for some time - while tax credits and employment have helped, reducing child poverty will require much more investment and a broader strategy.
The government had a ready response to handle its "bad news day" with a new Department for Work and Pensions strategy document, Working for Children. This lean document, which was hailed as a "child poverty strategy", concentrates on proposals to promote parental employment. Several of the programmes and schemes that will be funded will not be available on a national basis. It is a limited investment in a narrow strategy.
Britain already has one of the highest employment rates in Europe, yet one of the worst child poverty rates. Access to better jobs can help reduce child poverty, but the figures for children in working families who are still in poverty suggest that simply resorting to getting more parents into work is not good enough. Without better quality jobs, many families will simply become trapped in in-work poverty.
More conditionality and sanctions are proposed for lone parents. Evidence from the United States suggests this may push more children into poverty. Lone parents say they want to work and are best able to decide themselves when is the right time to return. They need high-quality childcare, training opportunities and supportive employers to do this - not coercion and threats.
The government's strategy must now open up new fronts to attack poverty. It's time to address the structural causes, including Britain's dependence on poverty-pay jobs and the high levels of inequality in Britain compared to European countries with low child poverty rates. Lessons should be learned from those countries at the top of the Unicef table, not those that have already followed a work-focused approach and were keeping Britain company at the bottom.
More investment is vital, particularly for those unable to work. Benefits for both disabled parents and disabled children are inadequate. Child Benefit is still £6 less per week for younger children in a family compared to the oldest child. Paying it equally would lift a further 250,000 children out of poverty, helping all family types, particularly larger families.
The government can still meet the target of halving child poverty by 2010, but analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has found it will require an extra £4bn annual investment. But with growing public frustration at more bad news about children's lives in Britain today, the cross-party consensus that backed an end to child poverty by 2020 must ensure the necessary investment is found.