Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the minimum income floor on levels of relative child poverty.

Priti Patel

The Government is committed to eliminating child poverty and improving life chances for children. The objective of the Minimum Income Floor is to incentivise work and thereby raise the incomes of families and reduce dependency on benefits. Work remains the best route out of poverty and Universal Credit is designed to strengthen incentives for parents to move into and progress in work. Evidence shows claimants move into work significantly faster and earn more than under the legacy system. In addition, from April 2016 Universal Credit provides for 85% of childcare costs meaning more support for hardworking families.