Social Security Benefits: Poverty

(asked on 29th June 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of families subject to the two-child benefit cap that are in absolute poverty.


Answered by
Guy Opperman Portrait
Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This question was answered on 4th July 2023

No such estimation has been made of the number of families subject to the two-child benefit cap that are living in absolute poverty.

Statistics related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children were published in July 2022 and are available at: Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit claimants: statistics related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of 2 children, April 2022 (opens in a new tab).

Statistics on poverty levels by family size in 20/21 are available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/(opens in anew tab) on the HBAI dataset.

The Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families. We will spend around £276bn through the welfare system in Great Britain in 2023/24 including around £124bn on people of working age and children.

From April, we uprated benefit rates by 10.1%. In order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions the benefit cap levels have also increased by the same amount.

With 1.05 million job vacancies across the UK, our focus remains firmly on supporting individuals, including parents, to move into, and progress in work, an approach which is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment - particularly where it is full-time - in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children. The latest statistics show that in 2021/22 children living in workless households were around 5 times more likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs than those where all adults work.

To support those who are in work, from 1 April 2023, the National Living Wage (NLW) increased by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW.

At the Spring Budget, the Chancellor announced an ambitious package of measures designed to support people wherever they live in the UK to enter work, increase their working hours and extend their working lives.

The Government recognises that high childcare costs can affect parents’ decisions to take up paid work or increase their working hours which is why, from 28 June, the changes to the Universal Credit (UC) childcare element announced in Spring Budget 2023 will provide generous additional financial support to parents moving into paid work and/or increasing their working hours.

This government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living which is why we are providing total support of over £94bn over 2022-23 and 2023-24 to help households and individuals with the rising bills.

For people who require additional support, the Household Support Fund has been extended until March 2024. This year long extension allows Local Authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support to those most in need in response to the significantly rising cost of living. The Devolved Administrations will receive consequential Barnett funding, as with all England-only investment, to spend at their discretion.

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