improved childcare and education has helped reduce the longterm consequences of poverty for children growing up and the gap in attainment between poor and betteroff children has narrowed the economic performance of countries has been volatile and by inequality and poverty have grown with both levels and durations of unemployment remaining high poor economic growth has meant that state spending is under further pressure and there have been substantial cuts in government spending benefit levels are now low but expenditure on social security remains high because of the large numbers of families without work