Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the letter concerning the impact of Brexit on people and places in poverty from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Shelter, Trussell Trust, Child Poverty Action Group, Action for Children, National Children’s Bureau, Poverty Alliance, Turn2us, Barnardo's, and ATD Fourth World dated 15 February; and what plans they have to (1) lift the freeze on working-age benefits and tax credits, (2) end the five-week wait for the first payment within Universal Credit, and (3) bring forward funding from the Shared Prosperity Fund to create an emergency stimulus package before 2020.

The government is tackling the root causes of poverty by getting people into work and giving children the best possible education. A record number of children are now in working households, with 630,000 fewer children in workless households than in 2010.

Budget 2018 announced that Universal Credit claimants will continue to receive Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance and Income Support for the first fortnight of a Universal Credit claim. This builds on previous announcements to support people moving onto Universal Credit.

The government has committed to establish the UK Shared Prosperity Fund after we have left the European Union and EU Structural Funds. The UKSPF will tackle inequalities between communities by raising productivity, especially in those parts of our country whose economies are furthest behind. We intend to consult widely on the fund shortly; details of the operation and priorities of the Fund will be announced following the Spending Review.