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Child Poverty Bill

I have to respond to the noble Baroness. I do not accept in any way that trying to tackle the causes of poverty suddenly becomes some kind of moral crusade, although I do not think that the noble Baroness said that. It is not a matter of morality. If the positions are reversed, as the noble Baroness suggested was a possibility and which is where we want to get to, the commission will be of great value in helping us to understand the causes of poverty. We will need a lot of help in order for us to address the funds, which will be limited under any government over the next decade, or certainly in the early part of it. My earlier amendments, which we may come back to later, are attempts based on my understanding of the current state of research into some of the main drivers of poverty—possibly the main drivers—although I am prepared to be corrected by better research as it emerges. These are not just targets; they are statutory targets, which are something rather different from a target. We have had a target up to now but we are now going to have a statutory target. I do not understand that and I look forward to hearing from the Minister exactly what the difference is in practice between a target and a statutory target. The Bill is halfway through and we have had a series of amendments where we have shown our line of thinking. We want a solid emphasis on tackling the causes of poverty and the Minister would misjudge and unkindly misrepresent us if he said that we were looking to do anything other than tackle this problem at its heart.