The Work and Pensions Committee has criticised the government for ‘devastating, cumulative cuts’ and having no effective strategy to increase the life chances of poorer children. The Institute for Fiscal Studies predicts a 7% rise in child poverty between 2015 and 2022, and various sources predict child poverty rates of as high as 40%: meaning almost one in every two children will be poor. The committee has indicated some ways the government could start to fix the problems of the UK’s poverty rates, including lifting benefit freezes, supporting childcare costs for the poorest households, and measuring the DWP’s performance. Read more on this here.
