Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of people living in relative poverty in a) Newcastle-under-Lyme, b) Staffordshire and c) England.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are committed to tackling poverty and we know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty. The Get Britain Working White Paper set out plans to reform employment, health and skills support to tackle rising economic inactivity levels, support people into good work, and create an inclusive labour market based on the unique needs of local communities, in which everybody can participate and progress in work.
Through our plan to Make Work Pay, we will, improve job security and boost living standards. From April, the National Living Wage increased by 6.7 per cent to £12.21 an hour, boosting the pay of 2.4 million workers. This represents an increase of £900 to the gross annual earnings of a full-time worker on the National Living Wage.
Universal Credit has a critical role to play in tackling poverty and making work pay and we have already taken steps to help those in need. The Universal Credit Act 2025, which came into force on 6 April 2026, delivered the first sustained, above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced. And the introduction of the Fair Repayment Rate in Universal Credit, from April 2025, means that around 1.2 million of the poorest households will retain more of their award, on average £420 a year.
The Child Poverty Strategy has looked at how the government can boost families' incomes through employment and the social security system, drive down the cost of essentials so parents can meet their children’s fundamental needs, and strengthen local support to ensure families can access vital services when they need them. The removal of the two child limit will lift 450,000 children out of poverty, rising to around 550,000 alongside other measures set out in our Strategy, such as the expansion of free school meals. These interventions will lead to the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began.
We have also introduced the new Crisis and Resilience Fund with £842 million per annum (£1 billion including Barnett consequential) to reform crisis support in England from 1 April 2026. This longer-term funding approach aims to enable local authorities to provide preventative support to communities as well as assisting people when faced with a financial crisis. We have allocated £28.2 million to Staffordshire over three years, (£9.3 million in 2026/27, £9.3 million in 2027/28 and £9.5 million in 2028/29) alongside £451,295 in 2026/27 to support heating oil households, with funding covering both the County and District Councils.
Asked by: Chris Curtis (Labour - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the factors affecting pupils’ readiness to learn and recurring barriers to early-morning preparedness in primary schools.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Schools white paper makes clear our commitment to ensure every child can achieve and thrive by getting the most from the school day.
This is why we are rolling out free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils in England, so that all children, regardless of background, can have the best start in life and begin the school day ready to learn. Since April 2025, we have funded 750 schools to offer a free breakfast club as early adopters, delivering 8.5 million meals so far. Following the success of the early adopters, we have rolled out clubs in an additional 500 schools opening their doors this week. Backed by an investment of £80 million, we will fund breakfast clubs in around 2,000 schools between April 2026 and March 2027, benefitting around half a million more children.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce rates of child poverty in working families in (a) Yeovil constituency, (b) Somerset and (c) England.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The latest statistics for 2024/25 show that over seven in ten children in poverty are in working families. ‘Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty’, published in December 2025, sets out Government’s commitment to tackling child poverty, including in working households.
Measures include the removal of the two child limit in Universal Credit, which will lift 450,000 children out of poverty. Alongside other measures set out in the Strategy, including extending Free School Meals to all children in households in receipt of Universal Credit, will reduce child poverty by 550,000 in the final year of this Parliament, the largest reduction over a Parliament since comparable records began.
This comes alongside raising the National Living Wage to £12.71 an hour to boost the pay of 2.4 million workers, tripling our investment in breakfast clubs to over £30 million and investing £39 billion in social and affordable housing.
Providing the right employment support can help parents progress in work. That is why the UK Government is driving forward labour market interventions that will deliver a step-change in support and help parents to enter and progress in work.
Since September 2025, eligible working parents of children from 9 months old living in England have been able to access 30 hours of Government-funded childcare. Working parents on Universal Credit can receive 85% of childcare costs and 100% of any upfront costs and, we announced that childcare support through Universal Credit would be extended to help with the childcare costs for all children, rather than being capped at two.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the scope of the baseline report on child poverty; and whether it will outline what reduction in child poverty his Department aims to achieve for the 10 year strategy period.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The baseline report will provide further details on our approach to monitoring and evaluating the Child Poverty Strategy, as initially set out in the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework published alongside the Strategy, alongside the latest statistics and evidence.
Our Child Poverty Strategy fulfils our commitment to reducing poverty this Parliament, lifting 550,000 children out of poverty, and sets out our ambition to tackle its structural drivers as part of a long-term, 10-year strategy. This Government has taken decisive action, with the interventions in the Strategy set to lead to the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began.
From the very beginning of our time in government we have done what is needed to tackle child poverty – we have increased the minimum wage, expanded Free School Meals, invested in social and affordable housing, funded more Best Start Family Hubs, and removed the two-child limit.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to reduce childhood obesity rates among children in areas of high deprivation.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan for England, we are taking decisive action on the obesity crisis and creating the healthiest generation of children ever. We are restricting junk food advertising targeted at children on television and online and have given councils stronger powers to block new fast-food outlets near schools. We have announced changes to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy and consulted on our proposals to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children. We will go further by introducing mandatory reporting on the healthiness of sales for all large food businesses and strengthening the existing advertising and promotions restrictions by applying an updated definition of ‘less healthy food and drink’.
We recognise that obesity is highly unequal and we are taking appropriate steps to support people to access healthier food. Through the Healthy Start Scheme, we are encouraging a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children under four years old from very low-income households and, in April 2026, we will be uplifting the value of weekly payments by 10%. The Government is committed to reviewing the School Food Standards so that these reflect the most recent dietary recommendations, free school meals will be extended to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026, and phase 1 of the free breakfast clubs programme will commence from April 2026, which will see a further 2,000 new schools delivering free breakfast clubs.
We are also committed to breaking down barriers and getting more people moving, especially those living in more deprived areas. We will do this through delivering the new Physical Education and School Sport Partnerships network, continued investment in grassroots sport, and cycling and walking infrastructure. We have already teamed up with Joe Wicks and launched 'Activate’, a series of animated, fun five-minute workouts to help families and schools tackle inactivity among children.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to ensure that children from low-income households can access healthy food and regular exercise opportunities.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan for England, we are taking decisive action on the obesity crisis and creating the healthiest generation of children ever. We are restricting junk food advertising targeted at children on television and online and have given councils stronger powers to block new fast-food outlets near schools. We have announced changes to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy and consulted on our proposals to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children. We will go further by introducing mandatory reporting on the healthiness of sales for all large food businesses and strengthening the existing advertising and promotions restrictions by applying an updated definition of ‘less healthy food and drink’.
We recognise that obesity is highly unequal and we are taking appropriate steps to support people to access healthier food. Through the Healthy Start Scheme, we are encouraging a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children under four years old from very low-income households and, in April 2026, we will be uplifting the value of weekly payments by 10%. The Government is committed to reviewing the School Food Standards so that these reflect the most recent dietary recommendations, free school meals will be extended to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026, and phase 1 of the free breakfast clubs programme will commence from April 2026, which will see a further 2,000 new schools delivering free breakfast clubs.
We are also committed to breaking down barriers and getting more people moving, especially those living in more deprived areas. We will do this through delivering the new Physical Education and School Sport Partnerships network, continued investment in grassroots sport, and cycling and walking infrastructure. We have already teamed up with Joe Wicks and launched 'Activate’, a series of animated, fun five-minute workouts to help families and schools tackle inactivity among children.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help improve levels of attainment among working class pupils.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Too many children are held back by their background. That is why, through the Opportunity Mission, we will break the link between background and future success.
The ‘Every child achieving and thriving’ White Paper establishes the department’s plan to improve the outcomes of all children, building on support at home with a stretching, enriching and inclusive school experience. Our ambition is that all children achieve higher standards and the disadvantage gap is halved. This equates to 30,000 more disadvantaged young people passing their English and maths GCSEs than today.
Additionally, we are driving standards through new RISE teams, a refreshed high-quality curriculum and assessment system and recruiting 6,500 additional teachers - as well as taking action to address barriers to learning.
Alongside this, around £3.2 billion is being provided in the 2026/27 financial year to state-funded schools in England through the pupil premium, to support disadvantaged pupils so they achieve and thrive in education.
'Giving every child the best start in life' sets out the immediate steps to deliver on our commitment to make early education and childcare more accessible and affordable. We have rolled out the expansion of government funded hours so that working parents can now access 30 hours per week from the term after their child turns nine months. We’ve also announced Best Start Family Hubs, backed by £500 million, and launched the Better Futures Fund, a new £500 million fund to break down barriers to opportunity for up to 200,000 vulnerable children and young people.
Finally, our Child Poverty Strategy will lift 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030. This includes the expansion of free school meals. Providing over half a million disadvantaged children with a free lunchtime meal will lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes.
Asked by: Beccy Cooper (Labour - Worthing West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the contract for the National school breakfast club programme prohibits the use of ultra-processed cereals and breads; and if she will set out the nutritional and processing specification of that contract.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The National School Breakfast Programme (NSBP) is an inherited scheme from the previous government and the contract will end in July 2026. The contract with the supplier Family Action stipulates that all food available for schools to purchase must meet the School Food Standards, which already restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, as well as low-quality reformed or reconstituted foods. To ensure quality and nutrition in meals for the future, we are revising the School Food Standards and are engaging with experts across the sector.
This government is committed to delivering a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils in England. All NSBP schools with primary-aged pupils will have the opportunity to transition onto the free breakfast clubs programme from September 2026. NSBP secondary schools will be provided with continued support at an equivalent value to what they receive on the NSBP for the 2026/7 academic year. Further details for secondary schools will follow shortly.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to respond to calls from more than 100 organisations for a Good Food Bill to help improve access to healthy and affordable food.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government is committed to raising the healthiest generation ever and breaking down barriers to opportunity.
We are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. We are taking decisive action to drive down poverty by ensuring that over half a million disadvantaged children receive the support they need in school to be healthy, get the most out of their education, and enjoy lifelong success. This action will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets.
The government is committed to delivering a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils in England. Free breakfast clubs remove barriers to opportunity by offering primary school children, no matter their circumstance, a supportive start to the school day.
These meals must be compliant with the School Food Standards. To ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history, we are revising the School Food Standards and are engaging with stakeholders.
Additionally, we are working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to add support for the outcomes of their Government Food Strategy.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of, a) pupils recorded as young carers and, b) pupils not recorded as young carers were eligible for Free School Meals in the January school census returns for 2023 to 2025.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department holds data on young carers and pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM), which is published in the ‘Schools, pupils and characteristics’ publication. The most recent version was published in June 2025 and the next is scheduled for summer 2026.
Below is a table showing the proportion of pupils who are identified as young carers and known to be eligible for FSM, and the proportion of pupils who are not identified as young carers but are known to be eligible for FSM.
Year | Proportion of young carers known to be eligible for free schools meals (%) | Proportion of pupils not recorded as a young carer but known to be eligible for free school meals (%) |
2024/25 | 56.90 | 25.50 |
2023/24 | 56.80 | 24.40 |
2022/23 | 56.40 | 23.70 |