MINISTERS have insisted they are being "more ambitious" in tackling child poverty with controversial plans to change the way it is measured.

LibDem UK Schools Minister David Laws, appearing alongside Tory Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, denied their proposals were about "massaging the figures".

They want to move away from the last Labour Government's focus on household income as an indicator of child poverty and use a "multidimensional" measure taking into account factors such as employment, family stability and parental health.

This has led to concern among campaigners that the Coalition wants to duck commitments to abolish child poverty by 2020.

Launching a consultation on the plan in London, Mr Duncan Smith said cash was not "absolutely representative" of a child's chances.

"A fixation on the element of relative income or driving people over an arbitrary line does little to identify those entrenched in dis-advantage or to transform their lives," he said.

Mr Duncan Smith claimed the new measure would provide a much better indication of how many children are in poverty

Barnardo's chief executive ,Anne Marie Carrie, said: "Debating how child poverty is measured must not distract from the urgent need for action to improve the life chances of children - below the breadline."