Vulnerable Children’s Bill and Better Public Services Results, among other things, as evidence of current related actions.13 26. The Vulnerable Children Act 2014 provides the basis for the introduction of a Vulnerable Children’s Plan, to be implemented by specified Government agencies. The Vulnerable Children Act enables the Vulnerable Children’s Plan to include measures to improve the economic and social well-being of vulnerable children. This provides the basis for a systemic approach to be implemented, albeit across a relatively narrow cohort of children, with the current policy definition of a “vulnerable child” limiting its application to approximately 30,000 children who are deemed to be in significant risk of harm. However, the Vulnerable Children Act does not contain a specific definition of a “vulnerable child”, which means it is possible that its scope could be expanded in the future to include a greater range of vulnerable children, including those living in poverty. The Vulnerable Children’s Plan is yet to be introduced by the Government. 27. Reducing child poverty and its effects on New Zealand children will of course require additional investment by the Government. The EAG found that actions that will have the greatest effect on child poverty and mitigating its effects, such as changes to the tax and benefit system, will require significant new public investment.14 28. The Commission refers to the Committee’s 2011 Concluding Observations in which it expressed concern that government allocations at that time were insufficient to eradicate poverty and address inequalities.15 However, as noted above, the lack of a budgetary mechanism that enables child poverty allocations to be targeted, tracked, monitored and evaluated means that it is difficult to accurately ascertain the extent of the Government’s subsequent and ongoing additional spending on initiatives aimed at reducing child poverty or mitigating its effects. The introduction of such a mechanism was proposed by the EAG as part of a legislative framework to reduce child poverty rates and related outcomes, however there has been no formal Government response or apparent consideration of that particular proposal.16 Recommendations for the Committee 13 Government response to Report of Health Committee on Inquiry into improving child health outcomes and reducing child abuse with a focus on preconception until three years of age, page 9 ihttp://www.parliament.nz/resource/minz/50DBHOH_PAP25992_1/33af84276a8645b14543e16c411e6b2e881afa1e 14 Expert Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty, Solutions to Child Poverty in New Zealand: Evidence for Action, p 33, http://www.occ.org.nz/assets/Uploads/EAG/Final-report/Final-report-Solutions-to-childpoverty-evidence-for-action.pdf 15 CRC/C/NZL/3-4 paragraphs 16 16 The EAG recommended that the introduction of legislation that would implement a systemic approach to child poverty reduction which included obligations upon the Minister of Finance to include child poverty related allocations in annual budgetary statement issued under the Public Finance Act – see EAG Working Paper 6: Legislative Mechanisms to Reduce Child Poverty, para 87 http://www.occ.org.nz/assets/Uploads/EAG/Working-papers/No-6-child-poverty-legislative.pdf 6