Child poverty strategy will lift hundreds of thousands of children out of hardship - biggest gains in North West and Yorkshire, finds IPPR

Thursday, 4 December 2025 22:30

Responding to the government's child poverty strategy, Professor Ashwin Kumar, director of research and policy at IPPR, said: “After a decade of rising child poverty, it is welcome to see a government taking the issue seriously again. Scrapping the two-child limit, expanding free school meals to all families on Universal Credit, and improving access to childcare are bold early steps which will mean 550,000 fewer children are in poverty by the end of the...Request free trial

Responding to the government's child poverty strategy, Professor Ashwin Kumar, director of research and policy at IPPR, said:

“After a decade of rising child poverty, it is welcome to see a government taking the issue seriously again. Scrapping the two-child limit, expanding free school meals to all families on Universal Credit, and improving access to childcare are bold early steps which will mean 550,000 fewer children are in poverty by the end of the parliament.

"But this must be the start, not the finish line. To truly turn the tide, the government will need to go further: by eliminating destitution amongst children, removing the benefit cap, restoring Local Housing Allowance so housing support keeps up with rents, and setting long-term targets to drive poverty down. If ministers build on today's first steps, this strategy could become the basis of a fairer system that guarantees every child security and the chance to thrive."

New analysis from IPPR shows regions with higher child poverty - Yorkshire and the Humber, Wales and the North West - see larger proportional income increases in household income from scrapping the two-child limit.

Region	2021/22 - 2023/24 child poverty rate	Increase in mean income in 2026/27
North East	31%	0.26%
North West	35%	0.30%
Yorkshire and The Humber	32%	0.32%
East Midlands	29%	0.22%
West Midlands	36%	0.21%
East	23%	0.15%
London	35%	0.17%
South East	25%	0.12%
South West	27%	0.14%
Wales	31%	0.31%
Scotland	23%	0.11%
Northern Ireland	24%	0.17%

The North West will see the largest reduction of child poverty, with around 90,000 children lifted out of poverty.

Region	Children lifted out of poverty
North East	20,000
North West	90,000
Yorkshire & Humber	40,000
East Midlands	30,000
West Midlands	50,000
Eastern	20,000
London	50,000
South East	50,000
South West	30,000
Wales	40,000
Scotland	20,000
Northern Ireland	10,000