Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2017 to Question 61821, on child poverty, what the evidential basis is to demonstrate that parental worklessness and children's educational attainment are the main two measures that can make the difference to child poverty.

Tackling child poverty and disadvantage is a priority for this government.

Income-related targets drive action that focuses on increasing incomes above a ‘notional’ poverty line, tackling the symptoms but not the underlying causes of poverty and disadvantage. We are convinced that improving long-term outcomes for disadvantaged children requires a fundamentally different approach.

The Government’s 2013 evidence review demonstrated a broad consensus that parental worklessness is a key driver of child poverty and that good educational attainment is the biggest single factor in ensuring that poor children do not end up as poor adults. The Child Poverty Transitions Report, published in 2015, found that 74% of poor children in workless families that moved into full employment exited poverty.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/285389/Cm_8781_Child_Poverty_Evidence_Review_Print.pdf https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/436482/rr900-child-poverty-transitions.pdf

This evidence is reflected in our new statutory measures of parental worklessness and children’s educational attainment. We will build on these measures and say more about our approach in our forthcoming Green Paper on Social Justice.