The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, today failed over 3.9 million UK children living in poverty by pledging a miserly 38p per week increase to child tax credits for Britain’s poorest families.

UNICEF UK, as part of the End Child Poverty campaign, had been calling on the Chancellor to commit at least £3 billion through child benefit and tax credits in 2009 Budget. This was the Government’s last opportunity to keep its promise to halve child poverty in the UK by 2010 - a target which it will now fail to meet.

“The Chancellor’s 38p per week extra in child tax credits is tiny,” said Alison Marshall, Head of Public Affairs at UNICEF UK.