To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children were in poverty in (a) Leeds West, (b) Leeds Metropolitan District and (c) the UK in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2007; and if he will make a statement.

I have been asked to reply.

The available information, published in the Households Below Average Income series, is that there were 3.4 million children living in households in Great Britain with below 60 per cent. of median contemporary income before housing costs in 1997/98; and there were 2.9 million such children in the United Kingdom in 2006/07. The Households Below Average Income series cannot provide information below the level of Government office region.

Work is currently under way to develop an indicator of child poverty at the local level that will measure the proportion of children in families living in poverty in both out of work and in work families. It is intended that this indicator will be used as the local area agreement child poverty indicator from April 2009 onwards.