The government reaffirmed its commitment to end social exclusion on Monday.
ODPM minister Yvette Cooper launched a paper called Tackling Social Exclusion.

It listed a 70% drop in people sleeping rough since 1998 and the 200,000 lone parents who have moved into work since 1998 as evidence that the government's policies have been a success.

But it admitted that there is more to be done and promises a greater focus on giving people skills and looking after elderly people with extra care needs.

Critics claimed the paper does not put enough emphasis on outreach work. Mike Tristram, director of the Simon Community, which works with homeless people in London, said: "The numbers game is not the only thing that matters."