UK Parliament Committees Launch Inquiry into Government's Child Poverty Strategy

Parliamentary Scrutiny Begins on Child Poverty Strategy

The United Kingdom Parliament's Education Committee and Work and Pensions Committee have jointly launched a new inquiry titled 'Realising potential: Delivering the Child Poverty Strategy'. The inquiry, initiated on January 29, 2026, aims to thoroughly examine how the government's recently announced Child Poverty Strategy can effectively achieve its stated goals.

This parliamentary action comes as child poverty remains a significant concern across the UK, with current figures indicating that approximately 1 in 3 children, or 4.5 million individuals, are living below the poverty line.

Government's Strategy and Its Aims

The government's Child Poverty Strategy, announced in December 2025 and titled 'Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty', outlines several key objectives. It seeks to boost family incomes, reduce essential household costs, and strengthen local support services. Among its core measures is the **scrapping of the two-child limit** from April, a policy change projected to lift around 450,000 children out of poverty by 2029 and alleviate deprivation for many more.

Other initiatives within the strategy include increasing access to free school meals, extending funded childcare entitlements for working parents, and investing in Family Hubs. The government anticipates that these combined efforts will raise a total of 550,000 children above the poverty line. Oversight for the strategy's implementation will be provided by a new cross-departmental board.

Inquiry to Address Ambition and Impact

The parliamentary inquiry will delve into the ambition and potential impact of the new strategy, considering which policy measures are most effective in reducing childhood poverty levels. A critical aspect of the investigation will be to address concerns raised by some critics that the strategy lacks binding targets. Furthermore, the committees will explore how the government plans to collaborate with the UK's devolved administrations to establish targets and assess the long-term success of the strategy.

The Persistent Challenge of Child Poverty

Child poverty in the UK has seen a concerning rise since 2013/14. Latest statistics reveal that 31% of children in the UK are currently in poverty, with 3.1 million children experiencing deep poverty. Despite the government's new strategy, projections indicate that approximately four million children will still face hardship.

Historically, the Child Poverty Act 2010 had established targets for eradicating child poverty by 2020. However, this legislation was subsequently repealed by the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016, removing the statutory targets. This new inquiry underscores the ongoing national effort to address and mitigate the profound effects of child poverty across the United Kingdom.