Gordon Brown has unveiled a £450 million fund which the government hopes will abolish child poverty in a generation.

Speaking at the launch of the fund on Tuesday the chancellor said the government alone could not improve the living standards of the nation's poorest children.

The "End Child Poverty Coalition", in line with other aspects of the government's plans for urban regeneration, will use parents, voluntary, charitable and community organisations to deliver change through "joined-up thinking".

The money will be divided into grants which small groups will have to bid for to fund their projects. The launch of the new fund followed last month's pledge by the prime minister to use faith groups and other non-government organisations to bring change.

The chancellor, Gordon Brown, claimed the government's policies had already achieved some success.

"As a result of measures introduced during this parliament we have taken more than one million children out of poverty. The next step is to take the second million out of poverty. And this will be a commitment of the next parliament as we meet our goal of reducing child poverty by half in 10 years and abolishing it in a generation."

"I hope this coalition will become a new, powerful force - an alliance of community and voluntary organisations, faith groups, parents - all those who share the ambition, of ending child poverty in our country and ensuring every child has the best start in life."