John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Robertson on 2014-06-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of welfare reforms since May 2010 on levels of child poverty.

Esther McVey

The Government has not made an assessment of the effect of welfare reforms on levels on child poverty. Given the large number of reforms and variables involved, the impact of welfare changes cannot be seen in isolation.

However, the guiding principles of all of this Government’s welfare reforms are to get more people into work by making work pay.

A key component of the Welfare Reform is Universal Credit. Universal Credit is expected to improve work incentives by allowing individuals to keep more of their income as they move into work, and by introducing a smoother and more transparent reduction of benefits when they increase their earnings.

We estimate this new reform will lift around 300,000 children out of poverty.