Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of child poverty in Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency.

Statistics on the number of children living in relative poverty on a before housing costs basis for Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency are published annually in the “Children in low income families: local area statistics” publication.

An assessment of the trends in the level of child poverty in Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency can be made using Table: “5_Relative_ParlC” in the latest published version, found here: Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2024 - GOV.UK.

The Child Poverty Taskforce is progressing work to publish our ambitious, UK-wide Child Poverty Strategy this autumn, which will deliver measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty.

In addition, we are taking further steps to support children and families through 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.

From September, eligible working parents of children aged 9 months and above can now access 30 hours a week from the term following their child turning 9 months to when they start school. This means working parents could save on average £7,500 per year, transforming the costs of having children for families.