B

Baroness Sherlock (Lab)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 10 September 2025

Debate

Child Poverty Strategy

Contribution

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for his encouragement on what the Government have done so far. It is significant. As he knows, we have already committed to extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of universal credit from September next year. That alone will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty by the end of this Parliament and put £500 back in those families’ pockets. That is really significant. But there is so much more to do; my noble friend is quite right about that. The child poverty strategy in the autumn will set out measures across the piece on dealing with child poverty. My noble friend mentioned the need to make our system sustainable, and he is quite right. There is no doubt that the social security system is not fit for purpose. It is not serving those who need to depend on it and it is not serving the taxpayer, but we have plans to get involved in making sure the system works well. Getting people into good jobs makes all the difference. It will also lift out of poverty the children in those families, so I look forward to doing that and I hope the whole House will support us.

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