Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of levels of child poverty on life expectancy.

The circumstances we are born in to and the conditions in which we live all have a major bearing on our health and wellbeing. The Government is committed to a sustainable long-term solution to child poverty in all areas of the United Kingdom, including reforming the benefits system so that it supports employment and higher pay. The approach we are taking goes beyond focus on income alone, so that we address the root causes of poverty and improve long-term outcomes from families and children, with a focus on parental employment and children’s educational attainment – the two areas that can make the biggest difference.