Concrete measures are needed to lift children growing up in the Netherlands’ poorest families out of poverty, children’s rights lobby groups Save the Children and Defence for Children said on Tuesday.

They will present a four-step action plan to junior social affairs minister Jette Klijnsma and a representative from the European Commission later on Tuesday.

Recent figures from the national statistics office CBS show 421,000 children are growing up in minimum income households. Of them, 131,000 live in families who have had very low incomes for years.

In particular, the lobby groups say children should be given a greater voice and should be directly involved in policy-making. Local authorities are currently responsible for measures to combat poverty and are supposed to take children’s opinions into account.

However, only 5% actually involve children in the process, the two lobby groups say.