OCTOBER 17 - THE GOVERNMENT has said it hopes to use the effects of the London 2012 Olympic Games to eliminate child poverty and unemployment in the capital. Gordon Brown met with London Mayor Ken Livingstone today at an 11 Downing Street reception to underline the achievements the London Child Poverty Commission had made so far.

 

Almost two-fifths of children in the capital live in poverty, a higher proportion than anywhere else in Britain, and the government wants to reduce this number by half by 2010, before completely eradicating child poverty by the end of the next decade.

Brown today said: "It is because of the work and support of people all across the UK that 700,000 children have been lifted out of poverty. But our thoughts are not just about those that we have helped but the millions we have still to help not just out of poverty but towards their full potential.

"The Olympic and Paralympic Games are a great opportunity for us and I believe that it will inspire today's generation of children, and there are nearly 100,000 young volunteers, to reach their potential and achieve their aspirations."

The Chancellor also said the Olympics will help overcome unemployment in London, today unveiling new targets aiming to encourage businesses to make more entry-level opportunities available, as well as securing public sector commitment to provide a steady supply of job-ready candidates.

Taking up Brown's message, the London Mayor added: "One of the main reasons I backed the 2012 bid was because I saw the potential of the 2012 games as a major catalyst for tackling some of the capital's worst social problems.

"Worklessness is the main contributor to child poverty in the capital and these initiatives will ensure many people who currently lack basic entry-level skills training will soon have a range of options to prepare them for employment as well as providing the all important jobs and volunteering opportunities which they can apply for."

Although Livingstone said that 75,000 jobs will be handed to unemployed Londoners by the 2012 opening ceremony, Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell claimed that today's initiatives were "not just about London".

"I am determined to ensure that the whole country benefits from the games and we will be publishing a national strategy on 2012 employment and training opportunities," she said.

"We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to ensure that the games leave a lasting social and economic, as well as physical, legacy for London and the rest of the UK and I am determined we will grab it with both hands."

Seb Coe, the chairman of London 2012, meanwhile, described the Olympic and Paralympic games as a "catalyst for so much good".