Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of freezing Local Housing Allowance rates in 2026–2027 on low-income renters; and when he plans to review Local Housing Allowance rates.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates are annually reviewed at Autumn Budget.
In his Written Statement following Autumn Budget, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions confirmed that LHA rates will remain at current levels in 2026/27 (HCWS1101). A range of factors were considered, including rental levels across Great Britain, the challenging fiscal context, and the impact of current levels of housing support.
To support our commitment to reduce child poverty, we prioritised removing the two-child limit which will bring 450,000 children out of poverty.
Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities for low-income renters who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. From April 2026 DHPs for England will be incorporated into the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF).
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department about the potential impact of the extension of the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain on the success of the Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government’s Child Poverty Strategy, Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty, was published on 5 December 2025. It sets out the steps this Government will take to reduce child poverty and to reverse the trend from 2010-2024.
Responsibility for the Child Poverty Strategy lies with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Secretary of State for Education, as co-chairs of the Child Poverty Taskforce.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 97 of the Government's document entitled Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty, updated on 23 December 2025, when the new guidance to aid local authorities in their understanding of their statutory duties and interaction with No Recourse to Public Funds will be issued.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government’s Child Poverty Strategy, Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty, was published on 5 December 2025. It sets out the steps this Government will take to reduce child poverty and to reverse the trend from 2010-2024.
The new guidance document designed to assist local authorities’ understanding of their statutory duties and interaction with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) will be published in the Spring.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of UK Government measures to reduce child poverty on children in Scotland; and how he is working with the Scottish Government to complement devolved policies and support progress towards Scotland’s statutory child poverty targets.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We estimate that removing the two-child limit alongside other measures in the Child Poverty Strategy, published on 5 December, will lift 550,000 children out of poverty across the whole of the UK, leading to the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began.
Removing the two-child limit from April 2026 will alone reduce child poverty across the UK by 450,000 in the final year of parliament and could benefit 95,000 children living in households in Scotland impacted by the policy.
We have published the UK wide impacts for the Child Poverty Strategy here: Child Poverty Strategy: Impact on low income poverty levels and children gaining in the UK: December 2025.
We are committed to continued collaboration with the Devolved Governments to tackle child poverty across the UK. As set out in our Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, published alongside the Child Poverty Strategy, we will continue to work closely with them to consider how best to feed into their own findings to track progress at both the local and national level.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of children in Northumberland newly eligible for support measures introduced under the Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Estimates are available for the number of children and households that are expected to gain from the removal of two-child limit at constituency level here Poverty impacts of social security changes at Budget 2025 - GOV.UK.
The Department does not hold data on the number of children in the North East, Northumberland or the Hexham constituency who will become newly eligible for support measures introduced under the Child Poverty Strategy or hold data on the proportion of low-income households in the North East, Northumberland or the Hexham constituency impacted by changes to income-related thresholds outlined in the Child Poverty Strategy.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of children in the North East newly eligible for support measures introduced under the Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Estimates are available for the number of children and households that are expected to gain from the removal of two-child limit at constituency level here Poverty impacts of social security changes at Budget 2025 - GOV.UK.
The Department does not hold data on the number of children in the North East, Northumberland or the Hexham constituency who will become newly eligible for support measures introduced under the Child Poverty Strategy or hold data on the proportion of low-income households in the North East, Northumberland or the Hexham constituency impacted by changes to income-related thresholds outlined in the Child Poverty Strategy.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of children in Hexham constituency newly eligible for support measures introduced under the Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Estimates are available for the number of children and households that are expected to gain from the removal of two-child limit at constituency level here Poverty impacts of social security changes at Budget 2025 - GOV.UK.
The Department does not hold data on the number of children in the North East, Northumberland or the Hexham constituency who will become newly eligible for support measures introduced under the Child Poverty Strategy or hold data on the proportion of low-income households in the North East, Northumberland or the Hexham constituency impacted by changes to income-related thresholds outlined in the Child Poverty Strategy.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on the proportion of low income households in the North East impacted by changes to income- related thresholds outlined in the Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Estimates are available for the number of children and households that are expected to gain from the removal of two-child limit at constituency level here Poverty impacts of social security changes at Budget 2025 - GOV.UK.
The Department does not hold data on the number of children in the North East, Northumberland or the Hexham constituency who will become newly eligible for support measures introduced under the Child Poverty Strategy or hold data on the proportion of low-income households in the North East, Northumberland or the Hexham constituency impacted by changes to income-related thresholds outlined in the Child Poverty Strategy.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on the proportion of low income households in Northumberland impacted by changes to income- related thresholds outlined in the Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Estimates are available for the number of children and households that are expected to gain from the removal of two-child limit at constituency level here Poverty impacts of social security changes at Budget 2025 - GOV.UK.
The Department does not hold data on the number of children in the North East, Northumberland or the Hexham constituency who will become newly eligible for support measures introduced under the Child Poverty Strategy or hold data on the proportion of low-income households in the North East, Northumberland or the Hexham constituency impacted by changes to income-related thresholds outlined in the Child Poverty Strategy.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on the proportion of low income households in Hexham constituency impacted by changes to income- related thresholds outlined in the Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Estimates are available for the number of children and households that are expected to gain from the removal of two-child limit at constituency level here Poverty impacts of social security changes at Budget 2025 - GOV.UK.
The Department does not hold data on the number of children in the North East, Northumberland or the Hexham constituency who will become newly eligible for support measures introduced under the Child Poverty Strategy or hold data on the proportion of low-income households in the North East, Northumberland or the Hexham constituency impacted by changes to income-related thresholds outlined in the Child Poverty Strategy.