Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will reinstate the universal credit child poverty forecast; and if she will make a statement.

Tackling child poverty and disadvantage is a priority for the Government. Work is the best route out of poverty, and Universal Credit is designed to strengthen incentives for parents to move into and progress in work. However, the impact of Universal Credit cannot be considered in isolation– it is a key component of a broader strategy to move Britain to a higher wage, lower welfare, and lower tax society.

This strategy includes the increase to the personal tax allowance, the introduction of the National Living Wage and the doubling of free childcare from 15 to 30 hours for working parents. Taken together, these reforms are designed to support people into employment and then enable them to progress in work and generate more income for themselves.

We expect claimants to respond positively to the improved incentives Universal Credit introduces and increase their income. The previous forecast is static and, as it does not capture these dynamic effects, it is of limited value in evaluating the impact of Universal Credit on poverty. The Government therefore has no plans to reinstate it.