Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

In-work Poverty

Monday 28 June 2021 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The number of working-age adults in working families in absolute poverty before housing costs fell by 300,000 in 2019-20.
  • The Government spent over 111 billion on working-age benefits in 2020-21, including an additional 7.4 billion in covid-related welfare measures.
  • Working-age adults in working families were approximately four times less likely to be in absolute poverty than those in workless families.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Tony Lloyd Lab
Employment Benefits & Welfare
Context

No specific background provided, but the question addresses recent trends and concerns about working individuals living below the poverty line.

Question

What recent assessment has been made of trends in the number of people in in-work poverty?

Answer from Will Quince

The number of working-age adults in working families in absolute poverty before housing costs fell by 300,000 in 2019-20. We have strengthened the welfare system, spending £7.4 billion in 2020-21 on measures such as the universal credit uplift.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide a recent government assessment of trends specifically requested; instead mentioned general poverty reduction and welfare support figures.

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Q2 Fleur Anderson Lab Putney
Employment Benefits & Welfare
Context

The question is prompted by the high percentage of food bank referrals due to low wages and unpredictable gig economy work, affecting many working families in Putney.

Question

Wandsworth food bank does an excellent job of helping people in need, but it would like not to exist. Some 56% of current food bank referrals from constituents are due to wages being too low; 43% are due to unpredictable work from the gig economy. Many constituents in Putney, Southfields and Roehampton are working two or three jobs, and across the country one in six working households is unable to make ends meet. What steps has the Department taken to ensure that work always pays?

Answer from Will Quince

The Government are wholly committed to supporting the most vulnerable in our society, spending over £111 billion on working-age benefits in 2020-21, including an additional £7.4 billion in covid-related welfare policy measures. Additionally, my Department's covid winter grant scheme—now the covid local support grant—has helped those families most in need with the cost of food and other essentials.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not address concrete steps to ensure work pays; instead focused on general welfare spending and grants for essential needs.

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Q3 Tony Lloyd Lab
Economy Employment Children & Families
Context

The question stems from the Minister's stance on fighting poverty through work, and seeks specific guidance for children growing up in families where parents are employed but still living below the poverty line.

Question

The Minister has made it clear on a number of occasions that the Government believe the way out of family poverty is to get people into work. What would he honestly say to a child growing up in a family in my constituency whose parents work and who is still living in poverty? What words would he use?

Answer from Will Quince

Of course I do not want to see anybody in this country, let alone any child, growing up in poverty. Working-age adults in working families were approximately four times less likely to be in absolute poverty than working-age adults in workless families. A child living in a household where nobody works is five times more likely to be in absolute poverty than a child in a household where every adult is working.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide honest advice for children but instead compared likelihood of poverty between workless and working families.

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