Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Child Poverty Strategy includes measures to ensure that the parents of a disabled child are considered in support strategies.

The Child Poverty Strategy sets out a range of measures that will address the financial strain on parents and families by boosting their incomes, driving down the cost of essentials, and strengthening local support.

This includes removing the two child limit in Universal Credit, which will see an estimated 560,000 families gaining on average £5,310 p.a. in their award, and introducing the Fair Repayment Rate, benefiting approximately 1.2 million of the poorest households by £420 a year.

We are also addressing families’ costs by increasing Free School Meals to all children in households in receipt of UC which will increase families’ incomes by £500 a year, requiring fewer branded school uniform items which will save families £50 per child, and making infant formula more affordable to save families up to £500 over a baby’s first year of life.

We know that parents with caring responsibilities for a disabled child or a child with a long-term health condition can find it especially hard to combine these responsibilities with paid work, as do parents with caring responsibilities for other family members or friends.

Carers will benefit from the wider measures in the strategy that address financial strain, but the government will also work with carers and employers to review the Carer’s Leave Act 2023 which gave employees a right to time off to care for someone who is disabled, has a long-term health condition, or injury.