Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she last held a meeting with Ministers responsible for the Child Poverty Strategy to discuss the (a) potential implication of lengthened immigration routes and (b) No Recourse to Public Funds condition for children’s living standards; and when she plans to hold the next meeting.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement proposals are subject to consultation, which will be launched later this year. No final decisions on the policy will be made until the consultation concludes.
The Home Office has agreed that children whose families have No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) should be included in the scope of the Government’s Child Poverty Strategy. The Child Poverty Strategy is due to be published later this year. I will continue to discuss and shape the approach with my officials and Government Ministers ahead of its publication.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of the (a) lengthening of immigration routes to settlement and (b) No Recourse to Public Funds condition on the ability to meet objectives under the Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement proposals are subject to consultation, which will be launched later this year. No final decisions on the policy will be made until the consultation concludes.
The Home Office has agreed that children whose families have No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) should be included in the scope of the Government’s Child Poverty Strategy. The Child Poverty Strategy is due to be published later this year. I will continue to discuss and shape the approach with my officials and Government Ministers ahead of its publication.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department (a) is engaging in the development of the Child Poverty Strategy and (b) will implement an exemption for families with children under 18 from the No Recourse to Public Funds condition.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement proposals are subject to consultation, which will be launched later this year. No final decisions on the policy will be made until the consultation concludes.
The Home Office has agreed that children whose families have No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) should be included in the scope of the Government’s Child Poverty Strategy. The Child Poverty Strategy is due to be published later this year. I will continue to discuss and shape the approach with my officials and Government Ministers ahead of its publication.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of asylum support rates on child poverty among families seeking asylum; and whether she has shared this assessment with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for consideration in the Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has a legal obligation to meet the essential living needs of destitute asylum seekers. We meet this obligation by providing accommodation and a weekly allowance. The level of the allowance given is reviewed each year to ensure it remains sufficient in meeting essential living needs.
Additional support is available to pregnant women, young children, and individuals who can show they have exceptional needs. Asylum seeking children are also entitled to access free healthcare and schooling, plus free school meals.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the Child Poverty Strategy will integrate with (a) the Child Health Action Plan and (b) other strategic activities; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Strategy on the work undertaken in the devolved nations.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This government is committed to tackling child poverty, with our ambitious Child Poverty Strategy due to be published in the autumn.
The publication will set out how we intend to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the strategy from this year and in future years, including understanding how this varies across the UK and for different groups.
As part of the strategy, the Child Poverty Taskforce is prioritising better local services, especially in the early years, for children living in poverty. We have announced close to £1.5 billion over the next three years on improving family services and early years education. Best Start Family Hubs are backed by £500 million of this investment between 2026 and 2029.
Details of how the Child Poverty Strategy interacts with other policies across government will be set out when the strategy is published, including child health.
The Strategy will be UK wide, drawing on devolved and reserved levers and working closely with devolved governments.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to include targets for reducing child poverty in the Child Poverty Strategy; and what plans she has for scrutiny of the delivery of that strategy.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This government is committed to tackling child poverty, with our ambitious Child Poverty Strategy due to be published in the autumn.
The publication will set out how we intend to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the strategy from this year and in future years, including understanding how this varies across the UK and for different groups.
As part of the strategy, the Child Poverty Taskforce is prioritising better local services, especially in the early years, for children living in poverty. We have announced close to £1.5 billion over the next three years on improving family services and early years education. Best Start Family Hubs are backed by £500 million of this investment between 2026 and 2029.
Details of how the Child Poverty Strategy interacts with other policies across government will be set out when the strategy is published, including child health.
The Strategy will be UK wide, drawing on devolved and reserved levers and working closely with devolved governments.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Child Poverty Strategy will include (a) services for children living in poverty and (b) the role of expanded family hubs in supporting low-income families.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This government is committed to tackling child poverty, with our ambitious Child Poverty Strategy due to be published in the autumn.
The publication will set out how we intend to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the strategy from this year and in future years, including understanding how this varies across the UK and for different groups.
As part of the strategy, the Child Poverty Taskforce is prioritising better local services, especially in the early years, for children living in poverty. We have announced close to £1.5 billion over the next three years on improving family services and early years education. Best Start Family Hubs are backed by £500 million of this investment between 2026 and 2029.
Details of how the Child Poverty Strategy interacts with other policies across government will be set out when the strategy is published, including child health.
The Strategy will be UK wide, drawing on devolved and reserved levers and working closely with devolved governments.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the registration of eligible children for free school meals; and whether she plans to introduce free school meal auto-enrolment in the Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
We want to ensure that all families who need it are able to claim the support they are eligible for. Creating a new threshold for free school meals will ensure that all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit are eligible, making it easier for parents to understand their entitlement.
The government is also taking action to make it quicker and easier for both families and local authorities to get children signed up for free school meals by rolling out improvements to the eligibility checking system used to verify entitlement to free school meals.
The Child Poverty Taskforce will publish a Child Poverty Strategy in the autumn that will deliver measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty. The Taskforce will continue to explore all available levers to drive forward short and long-term action across government to reduce child poverty.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2025 to Question 77510 on Israeli Settlements: Import Controls, how many companies have been found by HMRC to be in breach of mis-declaring goods from the Occupied Palestinian Territories as Israeli products in each financial year since 2010-11.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in Palestine are illegal under international law. Goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the UK’s current trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Government of Israel.
Where there are doubts about the origin of goods that have been declared as being of Israeli origin, HMRC will undertake checks to verify the origin of those goods to ensure fiscal compliance. HMRC does not however provide specific details regarding checks as it may serve to undermine compliance activity.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help (a) identify and (b) support older people in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 23 June to Question 57551.