The government is being urged to give more support to parents of children under the age of five in the attempt to combat child poverty.

A report, commissioned by the government, and completed by the Labour MP, Frank Field, called for money to be diverted from child benefit into education. Mr Field also recommended that schools should teach parenting skills to children.

And he told Today presenter John Humphrys that giving poor families more money wasn't necessarily the right answer.

"Money is clearly important," he said. "But when we look about the extra money we've actually channelled into, particularly the tax credit system, over the past ten years - £134bn - it's clear there isn't any longer this simple link between increasing the income for families and ensuring those children don't become poor adults."

Get in touch with Today via email , Twitter or Facebook or text us on 84844.