Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-04-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate the number of children in poverty affected by the under-occupancy penalty since its introduction; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey

This information can only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

This Government has made good progress in tackling the root causes of child poverty and has recently published the 2014-17 draft child poverty strategy for consultation which outlines the actions we are taking. The latest figures from 2011-12 show that 2.3 million children (17%) are in relative income poverty-down 300,000 since 2009-10. These are the lowest levels since the mid-1980s. The number of children in workless households has fallen by more than 270,000 since 2010, which is key to driving down poverty.