If the government is to have any hope of meeting its legal duty to eradicate child poverty by 2020, it must closely monitor how the benefits cap affects the wellbeing of the UK's poorest families.

Today, there are thousands more children waiting to be adopted or fostered than there are people coming forward, to be mums and dads. The figures speak for themselves; more than 4,600 children are currently awaiting families and we need to find some 9,000 new foster families in the next 12 months.

The prospects for young people starting out in the world today are already bleak with nearly one million young people currently unemployed - and now life is about to get even harder for them. The reckless proposal to remove housing benefits from under-25s risks leaving some of this country's most vulnerable young people out in the cold. What makes this proposal particularly distasteful is that in reality only a mere eight per cent of total housing benefits are claimed by under-25s, making this a policy which risks causing long-term harm to the lives of young people for the sake of a few headlines.

Children in care are amongst the most disadvantaged and marginalised young people in the UK - and financial support is vital if care leavers are to have the same chances in life as other young people.

We need to see drastic changes to make sure the abusers who control such vulnerable children for sex and personal gain do not get away with it.

Barnardo's believes that the scandal of child poverty in this country will only be tackled when action is taken to improve both the income and the access to services that the poorest families have. We know that money matters to the poorest families - especially when rising living costs, stagnating wages, a weak labour market and spending cuts are placing more pressure on them than ever before. Many families in poverty in the UK live on just £12 per person per day after housing costs. That £12 has to stretch to cover everything: food, electricity, water, gas, bus fares.

Police prosecutions of men who sexually exploit children are rising, but sadly we are now working with more boys and girls who are abused in this way than ever - up 8.4% on last year. There is still a worrying lack of awareness of this issue across the board.

Thursday's report from Ofsted revealing that the pupil premium is not consistently being used effectively is deeply concerning. It is particularly worrying since if targeted correctly, the funding has real potential to help to transform disadvantaged pupils' educational experience.

I believe that some plans could have huge unintended consequences that will mount even greater pressure on mums and dads who are already struggling to make ends meet.

The third sector is able to reach out to troubled families in a way that works. It works because families are not suspicious of us, they are not intimidated by our services and they are able to trust us.

Thousands of children are being put at risk of “horrific” sexual exploitation as budget cuts force the issue down the agenda, Barnardo’s has war...