Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Markham on 11 March (HL Deb col 1802), and taking account of the latest Households Below Average Income data, which shows a 300,000 increase in the number of children living in absolute poverty in the past year, what assessment they have made of the impact on health and well-being of the two-child limit for child benefit; and what assessment they have made of the strengths and weaknesses of using the measure of absolute poverty rather than relative poverty.

It is not possible to produce a robust assessment of the impact of the two-child limit.

Child Benefit continues to be paid for all children in eligible families.

Relative poverty sets a threshold as a proportion of the UK median income and moves each year as average income changes.

Typically, a household is in relative poverty if its income is less than 60 per cent of the median household income.

Absolute poverty, by our definition, is a threshold as a proportion of the UK average income in a given year (2010/11) and moves each year in line with inflation.

This government prefers to look at Absolute poverty over Relative poverty as relative poverty can provide counter-intuitive results.

Relative poverty is likely to fall during recessions, due to falling median incomes. Under this measure, poverty can decrease even if people are getting poorer.

The absolute poverty line is fixed in real terms, so will only ever worsen if people are getting poorer, and only ever improve if people are getting richer.