Rushanara Ali on Tackling Child Poverty
at the House of Commons
Dr Mozammel Haque
Labour Member for Bethnal Green & Bow, Rushanara Ali
asked the question in the House of Commons: “What recent progress her
Department has made on tackling child poverty.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary
of State for Work and Pensions
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and
Pensions, Will Quince, replied, “I thank the hon. Lady for her Throughout the
pandemic, our priority has been to protect the most vulnerable, which is why we
spent an additional £7.4 billion last year to strengthen the welfare safety
support for working-age people. Our ambition is to help parents return to work
as quickly as possible, as there is clear evidence of the importance of having
parents in work for reducing the risk of child poverty. That is why we are
spending over £30 billion on a comprehensive plan for jobs.”
Rushanara Ali thanked the Minister for his answer but added, “ 60%
of kids in my constituency are living in poverty, and over 4.2 million live in
poverty across the country. The numbers have gone up by 700,000 since 2010, and
the Government’s limited extension to the local support grants does not make up
for the cuts to universal credit, which will mean that families are £1,000 a
year worse off from September. Is it not time that the Minister reconsidered
that decision and made sure that families do not lose £1,000 from September, so
that more children are not forced into poverty?”
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and
Pensions, Will Quince, replied, “We are wholly committed
to supporting families with children. We spent an estimated £111 billion,
including £7.4 billion on covid-related measures, on working-age welfare in
2020-21. In addition, as the hon. Lady referenced, we introduced the covid
local support grant. We have now extended that grant with an additional £160
million in funding between 21 June and 30 September. That brings the total
funding package to £429 million. For the hon. Lady’s constituency—I reference
Tower Hamlets London Borough Council—it means an overall funding package of
over £3 million.”
Labour Member for Leeds, Richard Burgon asked, “What we
have been hearing from the Government is, frankly, rubbish. In Leeds East
alone, 11,000 children—that is approaching half of all children—live in
poverty. It is not getting better for the children of Harehills, and it is not
getting better for the children of Cross Gates, Gipton, Seacroft or anywhere
else; it is getting worse. Poverty levels went up by 25% in the five years
before the pandemic, and it is going to get worse when £20 of universal credit
is taken away from families in October. I dare the Minister today to come to
the food banks of Leeds East and tell people in my community why the Tory party
thinks that their children should be forced into further poverty this winter.”
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and
Pensions, replied, “Recent statistics show that before the covid-19 pandemic,
we were in a strong position, with rising incomes and 1.3 million fewer people,
including 300,000 fewer children, in absolute poverty, after housing costs, compared with 2010. There were
also over 600,000 fewer children in workless households. Our long-term ambition
is to support economic recovery across our United Kingdom, and our new plan for
jobs is already supporting people to move into and to progress in work.”
(Stalybridge and
Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)
Labour/Co-op Member for Stalybridge and Hyde, Jonathan
Reynolds, asked, “In-work poverty has hit a record high and the vast majority
of the millions of children in poverty have working parents, but the Government’s
response is to cut universal credit this September. There is no sign of an
employment Bill to improve conditions at work, and they have also frozen help
with housing costs. What is the Government’s plan to tackle in-work poverty? A
good way to start would be to cancel that cut to universal credit this
September.”
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and
Pensions, replied, “As our economy improves, we will increasingly focus our
support on in-work progression to improve opportunities for those in low-paid
work and support them towards financial independence. As part of our
comprehensive £30 billion plan for jobs, there is an extra 13,500 work coaches,
the kickstart scheme, the restart scheme, SWAP—the sector-based work academy
programme—and our in-work progression commission, which will report shortly on
the barriers to progression for those on persistent low pay and recommend a
strategy for overcoming them.”
Jonathan Reynolds again asked, “I would remind the Minister
that universal credit is an in-work benefit and it is means-tested. If people
do progress, they will not be eligible for that support, so it is not an
argument for proceeding with that cut in September.Can I ask the Minister about
a significant barrier to work, which is childcare? He will know that soaring
childcare costs have to be paid up front, but universal credit is paid in
arrears, leaving parents in debt. I recently met the campaign Mums on a
Mission, which has been forced to bring legal action to try to make the system
work for parents. More people would be able to work the hours they wanted if we
got this right, but do Ministers understand just how significant a problem this
is?”
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and
Pensions, replied, “As our The hon. Gentleman knows that I will not be able to
comment on live litigation, but what I would say is that we do have a
comprehensive childcare offer, both as a Government and specifically as a
Department. I would also say that, unlike the previous benefit system, in which
childcare costs could be up to 70% recoverable, in universal credit the figure
is 85%, so it is a far more generous system.”
Labour Member for East Ham, Stephen Timms, asked, “The
Joseph Rowntree Foundation has told the Work and Pensions Committee that
cutting £20 a week from universal credit in October will reduce unemployment
support to the lowest level for over 30 years at exactly the point when
unemployment is being increased by the ending of the furlough scheme, and that
it will also pull 400,000 people, including many children, below the poverty
line. What assessment will the Minister make of the impact of that cut on child
poverty before the cut goes ahead?”
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and
Pensions, replied, “As our The first thing I would say is that the Government
have always been clear that the £20 increase to universal credit was a
temporary measure to support households most affected by the economic shock of
covid-19, and that decisions on whether to extend support would be made as the
economic and health picture became clearer. There have been significant
positive developments in the public health situation since the increase was
first announced, with the vaccine roll-out now significantly gathering pace. I
say to the right hon. Gentleman that any look at measures of that kind in terms
of forecasting is purely speculative, but it is our expectation that this
additional financial support and other direct covid support will end once our
economy has opened.”
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