Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the number of children living in (a) relative poverty and (b) absolute poverty (i) nationally and (ii) in York.

National statistics on the number and percentage of children in low income are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication, and can be found at: Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

In the UK in 2020/21, there were 2.3m children living in absolute poverty, before housing costs (BHC). There were 2.8m children living in relative poverty BHC.

Latest statistics for the levels of children who are in low income in York are published in “Children in Low Income Families”, and can be found at: Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

In York in 2020/21, there were 3,000 children living in absolute poverty BHC. There were 4,000 children living in relative poverty BHC.

Due to methodological differences, the figures in these two publications are not comparable