Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to provide financial support to help reduce levels of child poverty in (a) (i) rural and (ii) coastal constituencies and (b) Fylde constituency.

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. The Child Poverty Taskforce is progressing urgent work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy later this year. The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across Government and work underway in Devolved Governments.

The Taskforce recognises the distinct challenges of poverty faced by children living in rural and coastal areas, and we are considering all children across the UK in the development of the strategy. To shape and inform these plans, the Taskforce is listening to experts and campaigners and engaging with families, charities, and leading organisations across the UK, including rural and coastal communities.

The vital work of the Taskforce comes alongside our commitments to roll out free breakfast clubs in all primary schools, extend Free School Meals to every pupil whose household is in receipt of Universal Credit, create 3,000 additional nurseries, and deliver our plan to make work pay and get Britain working. We have also introduced a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit and increased the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour to boost the pay of three million workers.