Children Living in Poverty Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateLord McConnell of Glenscorrodale
Main Page: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale's debates with the Department for Work and Pensions
(4 years, 1 month ago)
Lords ChamberTo ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to reduce the number of children living in poverty in working households.
My Lords, on behalf of my noble friend Lord McNicol of West Kilbride and with his permission, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in his name on the Order Paper.
My Lords, our current focus is on supporting people financially through this crisis. Our long-term ambition, based on clear evidence about the importance of work in tackling poverty, remains to build an economy that gives everyone the opportunity to enter and progress in work. In 2018-19, only 3% of children in households where both parents worked full time were in absolute poverty before housing costs compared to 47% in households where one or more of the parents worked part time.
My Lords, the mass unemployment of the 1980s did not leave just a generation of children—far too many children—living in poverty. It affected them, their children and their grandchildren for decades. Will the Government agree that in what is likely to be a very tough economic climate following this pandemic there is a need for targeted action to ensure that children not only escape the trap of poverty but have the educational opportunities to come out of poverty and have a better life thereafter?