Work and Pensions Committee and Education Committee Joint Inquiry: “Realising potential: Delivering the Child Poverty Strategy”

Introduction

WBG welcomes the publication of the Government’s Child Poverty Strategy. After more than a decade without a comprehensive strategy in England, during which child poverty rates have increased and social security support has eroded, its reintroduction marks an important political shift, demonstrating the Government’s commitment to placing child poverty reduction back at the centre of national policy.

The decision to abolish the two-child limit is particularly significant. It is the single most effective measure available to reduce child poverty at scale in the short term, and its removal signals recognition that child poverty is not inevitable but the result of policy choices. This decision, together with the roll-out of free school meals to families on Universal Credit in England from September 2026 is expected to lift 550,000 children out of poverty by 2029/30 ¹ .

However, the scale of child poverty in the UK remains profound. There are currently 4.5 million children living in relative poverty after housing costs, the highest number on record ² .

Poverty in childhood has immediate and long-term consequences. It is associated with food insecurity, cold and overcrowded housing, parental stress, stigma and exclusion from social participation. Over time, it increases the likelihood of poorer educational attainment, lower lifetime earnings, worse physical and mental health, and higher interaction with the criminal justice system ³ . Importantly, these outcomes are not evenly distributed. Children in single parent households, larger families, families with disabled members, racially minoritised families and migrant families are at significantly higher risk ⁴ . Regional disparities are also stark, with some areas experiencing entrenched intergenerational disadvantage.

Child poverty is inextricably linked to women’s poverty, and tackling both requires addressing systemic gender inequalities. Women are more likely to be primary carers, more likely to rely on social security at some point in their lives, more likely to be in low paid and insecure employment, and far more likely to head single parent households ⁵ . Policies to improve women’s economic security therefore also usually tackle child poverty: improving mother’s access to secure, well paid employment, addressing the availability and affordability of childcare, the quality of employment opportunities and the adequacy of social security support. A credible strategy must address the structural drivers of women’s poverty in order to reduce child poverty sustainably.

The Strategy represents a first step and contains important and welcome reforms. However, without additional structural change, legally binding targets, and sustained investment in social security and public services, child poverty will remain at unacceptably high levels.

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