Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce levels of poverty among children in Ilford South constituency.

The Child Poverty Taskforce continues its urgent work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy and is exploring all available levers across government to deliver an enduring reduction in child poverty in this parliament, as part of a 10-year Strategy for lasting change. The Devolved Governments and Local Authorities are a key part of our approach to learning directly about the experience of poverty in different communities and solutions already underway.

The Strategy will look at four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.

The Taskforce is listening to experts and campaigners and engaging with families, charities, campaigners and leading organisations across the UK to shape and inform the Strategy.

The vital work of the Taskforce comes alongside our commitments to triple investment in breakfast clubs to over £30 million, introduce a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit, and increase the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour from April to boost the pay of three million workers. To further support struggling households, funding of £742 million will be provided to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 in England, plus additional funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion.