Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Child Poverty Strategy

Monday 1 December 2025 · 4 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government's decision to end the two-child cap on benefits will help transform the lives of 2,500 children in Dartford constituency.
  • The Government plans to expand free school breakfast clubs to 2,000 more schools in the next financial year.
  • The child poverty strategy aims to protect vulnerable children and safeguard their welfare, addressing issues faced by rural communities and considering cross-Government approaches.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Jim Dickson Lab Dartford
Benefits & Welfare Children & Families
Context

The Government's decision to end the two-child cap on benefits will affect thousands of children in Dartford, including a planned roll-out of free school meals and breakfast clubs. The MP wants to ensure these initiatives are implemented effectively.

Question

The Government’s very welcome decision to end the two-child cap on benefits will, alongside free school meals and breakfast clubs, transform the lives of 2,500 children living in my Dartford constituency, and contribute to our manifesto goal of tackling child poverty. Will the Secretary of State tell the House when more schools in Dartford will be eligible to join the roll-out of free breakfast clubs to primary schools across the country?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)

Labour’s free breakfast clubs have already served 5 million meals, including in Knockhall primary school and Sedley’s primary school in Dartford. Applications are now open to join the next wave from April, with 2,000 more schools set to join in the next financial year, making the clubs available to half a million more children. I encourage eligible schools to get their applications in by the end of the week, so that we can give children in Dartford, and across our country, the best start to their day.

Answered
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Q2 Kate Osamor Labour (Co-op) Edmonton and Winchmore Hill
Immigration Children & Families
Context

The scrapping of the two-child benefit cap will help many children, but an estimated 382,000 children in poverty whose families are subject to no recourse to public funds may not be helped by this measure. The MP wants to ensure these children are included.

Question

I welcome the announcement that the two-child benefit cap will be scrapped, lifting hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty. However, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research and Praxis, there are an estimated 382,000 children in poverty whose families are subject to no recourse to public funds and who will not be helped by that measure. Will the Secretary of State promise me that the child poverty strategy will include extra assistance for migrant households?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising her concern. We are working with the Home Office and with colleagues across Government in developing the child poverty strategy. We will focus on ensuring that vulnerable children are protected and their welfare is safeguarded, and that vulnerable migrant children receive the support they require.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific commitments or timelines not provided for extra assistance to migrant households

How: We Will Focus On Ensuring

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Q3 Sarah Dyke Lib Dem Glastonbury and Somerton
Agriculture & Rural Affairs Children & Families
Context

Rural areas face unique challenges when it comes to child poverty, with nearly 18% of children living in poverty in Glastonbury and Somerton. The MP wants to ensure the strategy addresses these issues.

Question

Rural areas have deep pockets of deprivation, and nearly 18% of children in Glastonbury and Somerton live in poverty. How will the Minister ensure that the child poverty strategy sufficiently focuses on child poverty in rural areas?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)

I recognise the particular challenges faced by many rural communities, and I am grateful to the hon. Lady for raising them. We have been considering such matters through the development of the strategy. The taskforce has been working across Government, including with colleagues in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to understand some of the challenges. We are expanding childcare and new free breakfast clubs, and the lifting of the two-child limit will make a big difference to children and their life chances in every corner of our country.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific commitments or timelines not provided for rural areas

How: We Are Expanding

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Q4 Shockat Adam Ind Leicester South
Economy Housing Children & Families
Context

Child poverty is near 70% in some areas of Leicester South, with teachers reporting increased student anxiety and poor health. The MP wants to ensure the strategy addresses these issues.

Question

Teachers across Leicester South, where, in some areas, child poverty is unfortunately near 70%, tell me that student anxiety and poor health are rising, partly driven by insecure, damp and cold housing. Schools are unfortunately being forced to act as frontline welfare services, absorbing pressures that should never fall on teachers alone, such as helping people to fill in forms. Will the Minister reassure them that the child poverty strategy, which is to be published this week, will address the link between child poverty and poor health?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)

Yes, we are looking at that question and at the issue of temporary accommodation that the hon. Member raises. This is a cross-Government strategy and not for the Department for Education to solve alone, although the lifting of the two-child limit is an investment not just in our children and their life chances but in our schools and education. I have heard too many stories of teachers and staff across the country having to pick up the pieces because of wider societal failure. Ending the two-child limit rights that wrong, and invests in our young people.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific commitments or timelines not provided for addressing poor health linked to child poverty

How: This Is A Cross-Government Strategy

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