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A new package of measures and cash to tackle truancy was this week overshadowed by the government's cynical proposal to cut the child benefit of parents of persistent young offenders and truants.

Just days after education secretary Estelle Morris announced a £66m package of measures to tackle truancy, the government attempted to increase its share of the vote in today's local elections by presenting a tough crackdown on youth crime.

Its proposal to penalise parents by cutting their child benefit will not reduce truancy or youth offending. It is an unnecessary tool: the courts can already fine parents of persistent truants, and they can order the parents of those who get involved in antisocial behaviour to attend parenting classes once a week for up to three months and of those who truant to ensure their children go to school for up to a year. The proposal would also further impoverish those parents who rely on child benefit. Such a system would also be extremely difficult to administer.

But behind the headline proposal lies a raft of other measures. These include new and expanded learning support units and behaviour and support teams to ensure persistent truants and those children who are excluded from school are still receiving education. These are welcome moves and the government has provided the necessary cash to ensure they materialise.

Morris claimed the package would meet the needs of pupils, teachers and parents. It might help the parents of children who are excluded and loafing around the house with nothing else to do.

But it does not meet the needs of parents of children who are disengaged from school and at risk of getting involved in youth crime. They need sustained support to educate them in how to parent effectively and ensure their children develop into responsible adults. Parenting is one of the most difficult jobs in the world and most people could benefit from education and support in carrying out the task.

Children truant and become involved in antisocial behaviour because of a range of factors. It is incorrect to assume that poor parenting is always the reason. Therefore blaming the parents by cutting their child benefit is not the answer. The government should be looking at family support services to find solutions to youth crime, not the social security system.

Poverty is still the key

According to a survey commissioned by the charity Save the Children, 60 per cent of people say that child poverty is a serious political issue. So, apparently, does the government, given Gordon Brown's pledge to end child poverty within a generation. To the government's embarrassment, it emerged last month that 3.9 million children were still living in poverty, a drop of only 500,000 since it came to office.

The blame for this lies squarely with the Conservative spending policy adopted by the government in its first years, when, for example, the hardships endured by lone parents were compounded rather than alleviated. Tax credits, targeted benefits and low unemployment have begun to improve matters, but the government continues to send out mixed messages about poverty.

Social security secretary Alistair Darling has suggested revising the indicators by which poverty is measured, exciting suspicion that he merely wants to show the government's performance in a better light. This move would be a mistake. The government must resist the temptation to footle with its long-term objective of eradicating child poverty.