Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the benefits freeze on the incomes of households with children.

An Impact Assessment of the benefit freeze was published in 2015, this is available in the link below.

https://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA15-006C.pdf

The Welfare Reforms such as the benefit freeze were designed to incentivise parents to choose to move into and progress in work. Evidence shows that work is the best route out of poverty. Children in workless households are five time more likely to be in poverty than those in households where all adults were working. Since 2007/08, the incomes of the poorest fifth have increased by over £850 above inflation, whereas the incomes of the richest fifth have increased by around £650.