This briefing, from CPAG and the NEU, lays out from an education perspective what is needed to reduce child poverty, to alleviate the negative impacts of poverty on children’s education, and to empower schools to ensure all children can thrive in education.
These large cuts to sickness and disability benefits risk undermining wider government objectives to tackle child poverty and increase living standards by the end of this parliament.
The minimum cost of education parents in the UK must meet is now over £1,000 a year for a child at primary school and nearly £2,300 a year for a child at secondary school.
Abolishing the two-child limit is, by far, the most cost-effective way of reducing child poverty, and if done this year will transform the lives of millions of children and families by the end of this parliament.
The latest poverty statistics show that in 2023/24 there were a record 4.5 million children in relative poverty (after housing costs), a rise from 4.3 million in 2022/23. This is 31 per cent of children.
The package of reforms set out yesterday will result in a net reduction in social security expenditure of £5 billion by 2029/30. This is the biggest cut to disability benefits in a generation, and will push children and families into poverty, and reduce living standards for many.
