Child Poverty Action Group should be a wake-up call to the Government about the impact of Universal Credit, says Labour

Commenting on a study conducted by the Child Poverty Action Group showing that poor families are further below the poverty line than they were seven years ago and the number of children in poverty in households where parents work full-time has doubled in the same period, Labour's Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Margaret Greenwood MP said:

"This study by the Child Poverty Action Group should act as a wake-up call to the Government about the impact that Universal Credit and Conservative cuts to social security such as the two-child limit have had on families over the last decade.

"Government ministers repeatedly say that work is the best route out of poverty, but according to its own figures, 70% of children growing up in poverty live in working families.

"This Government should end cruel policies like the two-child limit and the benefit cap. No child should be forced to go to school hungry.

"Tackling child poverty should be right at the top of Government priorities, not an afterthought as it seems to have become under the Conservatives."