B

Baroness Sherlock (Lab)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 2 March 2026

Debate

Child Poverty Strategy

Contribution

My Lords, I absolutely agree with the noble Viscount, and I have said many times from this Dispatch Box that, for many families, work is the best route out of poverty. Of course there will always be those who cannot work, and they deserve a welfare state that supports them, but this Government have invested considerable sums and will invest considerably more in supporting families to work. We already know that parents are actually more likely than average to be in employment. They want to work—they want to support their kids, they want to be a good role model and they want to show them that that is what adult life looks like—but many of them will need extra help, so we are investing heavily in those who have barriers to work. The noble Viscount mentioned young people. The Government have done so much on young people. He will know that Alan Milburn is doing a report for the Government looking at why so many of our young people—one in eight—are not in employment, education or training. That figure is a disgrace and we have to tackle that.

More from Baroness Sherlock (Lab)

Other recent Hansard contributions by the same speaker.

About Hansard

Hansard is the official verbatim record of proceedings in the UK Parliament. Every word spoken in the Commons and Lords is recorded and published — this page is a single contribution from that record.

Partner sites