Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps is she taking to reduce the number of people in (a) relative poverty, (b) absolute poverty and (c) destitution.

This government is committed to tackling poverty.

We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty so alongside social security this will be the foundation of our approach. The Get Britain Working White Paper, to be set out in the Autumn, will develop measures to reduce inactivity and help people to find better paid and more secure jobs. Alongside this, we have committed to reviewing Universal Credit by listening to the full range of views on potential changes, so that our social security system is fit for purpose.

We promised concrete actions in our manifesto to support children and families which is why we announced our Ministerial Taskforce on the 17^th July, jointly chaired by the Work and Pensions and Education Secretaries, to begin work on an ambitious Child Poverty Strategy, to reduce child poverty, tackle the root causes, and give every child the best start in life. The Taskforce will publish the Child Poverty Strategy in Spring 2025 and will explore all available levers to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty.

We are already taking steps to tackle poverty, including free breakfast clubs in every primary school so children don’t go hungry, protecting renters from arbitrary eviction, slashing fuel poverty and banning exploitative zero hours contracts. As well as this, we announced funding to extend the Household Support Fund in England for a further 6 months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025. An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual. As has been done for previous schemes, the Fund is available to County Councils and Unitary Authorities in England to provide discretionary support to those most in need with the cost of essentials.