Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Low-income Households

Tuesday 9 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 2 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Child poverty rates in Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove will see 4,000 children benefit from the removal of the two-child limit.
  • The number of jobs has increased by 329,000 this year, addressing youth employment issues.
  • The Co-op has cut or frozen the prices of 2,700 essential products at a cost of 1 billion to support families.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 David Williams Lab Stoke-on-Trent North
Economy Children & Families
Context

Child poverty rates remain high in Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove. The Chancellor's Budget decisions are being scrutinised for their impact on families struggling with income.

Question

Child poverty rates remain far too high in my constituency of Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove. What assessment has the Chancellor made of how the fair decisions taken in the Budget will address poverty among low-income working families in my constituency and across the country?

Answer from The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rachel Reeves)

About 4,000 children in Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove will benefit from the removal of the two-child limit. The government is also providing funds for free school meals in England and delivering free breakfast clubs in every state-funded primary school in England. This leads to an expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since records began.

Answered
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Q2 Esther McVey Con Tatton
Taxation Employment
Context

Concerns about employment levels falling to a 14-year low and the impact of increased employer national insurance contributions on job security.

Question

The biggest issue for those on low incomes is losing their jobs. Does the Chancellor believe that there is any link at all between her increase in employer national insurance contributions —her job tax—and employment levels slumping to a 14-year low?

Answer from The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rachel Reeves)

The number of jobs has increased by 329,000 this year. The youth guarantee is addressing the issue of young people not being in education, employment or training. This Government are dealing with the fact that when they took office last year, one in eight young people were NEET.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Chancellor did not address whether increased employer NI contributions have affected job levels.

How: Working On, Focusing On

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Q3 Gareth Thomas Labour (Co-op) Harrow West
Economy Benefits & Welfare
Context

A quarter of the UK population lacks significant savings, with one in seven having no savings at all. The questioner suggests encouraging employers to work with local credit unions.

Question

I commend the steps that my right hon. Friend took to support those on low incomes, both in the Budget and through the recently published financial inclusion strategy, but may I encourage her to go further on the issue of savings, given that a quarter of the people in the UK have little by way of savings and, indeed, one in seven have no savings at all? Will she encourage employers to work with local credit unions to help those who want to save automatically, and to save even a small amount from their pay packets, to do so?

Answer from The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rachel Reeves)

Through the financial inclusion strategy led by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, we are extending Help to Save within the universal credit system and working with banks and building societies. I know that my hon. Friend works closely with the co-operative movement and with building societies to ensure more people from low-income backgrounds can save for the future.

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Q4 Sammy Wilson DUP East Antrim
Economy Energy Benefits & Welfare
Context

Concerns about rising food prices impacting low-income families, with a warning from the Aldi chief executive suggesting that unless the Chancellor reviews farm inheritance tax, food prices will rise further.

Question

Low-income families have been hit by being dragged into tax bands that they were not in before and by energy costs, and now the chief executive of Aldi has said that unless the Chancellor reviews her raid on farm inheritance tax, rising food prices will hit those families as well. If she will not listen to the farmers, will she at least show some concern for consumers, and look again at this tax?

Answer from The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rachel Reeves)

Since the Budget, the Co-op has cut or frozen the prices of 2,700 essential products at a cost of £1 billion, recognising the impact that the cost of living still has on families. The Budget package supports our high streets, including our supermarkets.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Chancellor did not address whether she will review farm inheritance tax policies.

How: Working With

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