Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of parental employment on levels of child poverty.

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. We are exploring all available levers to drive forward short and long-term action across government to reduce child poverty, and we will publish a Child Poverty Strategy in the autumn that will deliver fully funded measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty.

Good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty. Children living in households where no adults work are around 4 times more likely to be in relative poverty after housing costs, than those where all adults work. Our Get Britain Working White Paper, backed by an initial £240 million investment in 25/26, will deliver the biggest reforms to employment support in a generation to help more people into work and to progress.

We are already taking steps to support parents into work. From this month, eligible working parents of children aged 9 months and above can access 30 hours a week (over 38 weeks a year) from the term following their child turning 9 months to when they start school. Parents claiming Universal Credit also have access to individual tailored help from their work coaches and funding through the Flexible Support Fund to address immediate barriers to employment.