Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Child Poverty

Monday 7 October 2024 · 2 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 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Labour Government lifted 600,000 children out of poverty
  • Number of children in poverty increased by 700,000 under Conservatives
  • Meeting held with North East Mayor Kim McGuinness on 19 September

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Luke Akehurst Lab North Durham
Children & Families
Context

The question follows a discussion on child poverty levels in the UK, highlighting significant fluctuations and current statistics.

Question

What assessment she has made of trends in the level of child poverty in the last 10 years. The Labour Government lifted 600,000 children out of poverty but under the Conservatives, the number increased by 700,000 to more than 4 million children.

Answer from Liz Kendall

Under the last Labour Government, 600,000 children were lifted out of poverty. Under the Conservatives, the number increased by 700,000 to more than 4 million children in poverty. The taskforce co-chaired with the Education Secretary aims to urgently address this issue.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific trends requested are not detailed; only general statements about increases and decreases were provided.

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Q2 Luke Akehurst Lab North Durham
Children & Families
Context

The question arises from a discussion on regional efforts to combat child poverty, specifically in the north-east region of England.

Question

Almost a third of children in the north-east live in poverty. Will the Secretary of State work with our Mayor of the North East, Kim McGuinness, on her excellent regional plans to reduce child poverty?

Answer from Liz Kendall

We have already met with Kim McGuinness on 19 September. We will not wait until our strategy is out in the spring to act; nationally, £421 million has been put into the household support fund. Mayors like Kim McGuinness are doing amazing work by working with schools and businesses to ensure families receive benefits.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific collaboration requested is not fully detailed or committed to; only general statements of existing actions were provided.

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