The Child Minder

The secretary of state for work and pensions has promised to crack down on the "can't work, won't work" culture that is apparently rife in our communities.

All the time the focus of this crack down is support, that is fine. John Hutton's pledge to find "a new place for skills at the heart of a welfare contract for the 21st century" and build on the recommendations of Leitch's review of skills report, for example, sounds like a welcome step.

Talk of benefit cuts for those who remain on Jobseeker's Allowance for long periods of time but refuse to fully engage with programmes to get them back into work, on the other hand, make me nervous.

Education was the clear winner again in yesterday's pre-budget report.

While none of us would argue against greater investment in education, it is critical that the government thinks beyond the school day and invests in other aspects of childhood too.

Extending child benefit to cover women's pregnancies is a welcome move. But more radical action is needed if there is to be any chance of the government halving child poverty by 2010 and eradicating it by 2020.

The verdict, then, on Mr Brown: a good start, but could try harder.