, Labour’s Shadow
Employment and Social Security Minister, responding
to statistics published this morning by the Department for Work
and Pensions that show an increase in child poverty, said:
"Today’s child poverty statistics are horrifying.
"The Conservative Government crashed the economy and unleashed a
cost of living crisis, pushing families across the country into
poverty and a million children into destitution.
"The last Labour government took over a million children out of
poverty, and we’ll fix this Tory failure yet again with a new
cross-government child poverty strategy.
"Labour will tackle the root causes of poverty by growing the
economy, bringing down energy bills, creating better more secure
jobs, building more affordable housing and protecting renters,
delivering our Child Health Action Plan, placing Young Futures
hubs in every community, cutting school uniform costs and
supporting parents and children by providing breakfast clubs in
every primary school."
Ends
Notes
• Today’s statistics show that in 2022/23, 4.3 million
children were living in relative poverty and 3.6 million children
were living in absolute poverty.
• Compared to the year before, 100,000 more children were
living in relative poverty and 300,000 more children were living
in absolute poverty.
• Compared to 2010/11, 700,000 more children were living
in relative poverty and 30,000 more children were living in
absolute poverty.
'Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995
to 2023' - 21 March 2024,Gov.uk
