Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to provide financial support to people on lower incomes in Aldershot constituency.

We are committed to tackling poverty.

We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty so this will be the foundation of our approach. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched on 26 November will target and tackle economic inactivity and unemployment and join up employment, health and skills support to meet the needs of local communities.

Alongside this, we are committed to reviewing Universal Credit to make sure it is doing the job we want it to do. We have begun this work with the announcement of the Fair Repayment Rate in the Budget and will continue to work with stakeholders closely as the review progresses. We will regularly update Parliament on progress.

We are taking the first steps to tackle poverty through our commitments to triple investment in breakfast clubs to over £30 million and increase the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour from April 2025 to boost the pay of 3 million workers. Furthermore, our plan to Make Work Pay aims to create opportunities for all by tackling low pay, poor working conditions and job security.

To further support struggling families, £1 billion, including Barnett impact, will be invested to extend the Household Support Fund in England by a full year until 31 March 2026, on top of the six months already announced, and to maintain Discretionary Housing Payments in England and Wales.