Letter: Poverty's causes

Sir: Clare Short asked the Church of England to draw attention to poverty in Britain when she addressed the General Synod. Third World poverty has a vital place on the Church's agenda through Jubilee 2000 but it should not distract attention from the home-grown variety.

Thirty-two per cent of children in this country live in families with incomes less than 50 per cent of average income. That is the highest percentage in Europe. Five per cent of children in Denmark live in such families and 12 per cent in France. The campaign against poverty is as important in the United Kingdom as it is in the Third World. Jubilee 2000 should say so often.

The Rev PAUL NICHOLSON

Chairman,

Zacchaeus 2000 Trust,

Henley-on-Thames,

Oxfordshire