NOVEMBER 20TH, 2006

Families on the lowest incomes could get help with their fuel bills.

Chancellor Gordon Brown has hinted he might give the poorest homes a boost for heating costs.

He was responding to pressure from the Save the Children charity which warned that the UK has one of the worst rates of child poverty in the EU.

Mr Brown said the Government was committed to giving all children in the UK the best start in life, but added that it was a complex issue which required a varied approach.

He said: "There's not enough people in work. We've got to help more people get into jobs, we've got to do more to help people out of child poverty with better benefits, and we will do that, and we continue to do that."

Mr Brown said the poorest children in the country received £62 per week for their welfare, but other factors like getting parents into work were also very important.

"Now that's not enough because we all know what the bills are that you've got to meet, but we've doubled it and we will do more over the next few years," he said.

"It's a combination of getting the parents into work, and there's 2.5 million more jobs.

"But we need more jobs for particularly people who don't have qualifications, we need to help the single parents get the child care so that they can get into work, and we need to do more on benefits.

"I'll continue to look at that because our aim is that every child has the best start in life and that no child is left behind.

"And that's really what drives me on. If we can do this over the next few years it will be a great achievement."

Save the Children chief executive Jasmine Whitbread said many of the poorest families would really struggle at this time of the year with winter setting in and Christmas approaching.