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Nursery World – Government to publish its strategy to combat child poverty in spring 2025

Nursery World – Government to publish its strategy to combat child poverty in spring 2025

The Government will publish a strategy to tackle child poverty next spring after its Child Poverty Taskforce met for the first time this week.

The taskforce, co-chaired by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall and comprising the Deputy Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Ministers for the Devolved Nations, aims to address the “wide-ranging and deep-rooted” causes of child poverty.

According to recent government data, more than four million children are now growing up in low-income families, and 700,000 more children are living in poverty than in 2010.

The ministerial task force plans to reduce child poverty as follows:

  • Supporting households to increase their income, including examining welfare reforms that help people get into work and alleviate poverty
  • They help reduce essential household costs, build savings and get problematic debts under control.
  • Alleviating the negative experiences of living in poverty, including through support for families and the role of public services.

The Taskforce will hear from families and children ‘in need’, field staff and campaigners, and charities and organisations from across the UK, whose experiences will feed into the strategy to tackle child poverty.

They will also visit towns and cities across the country to learn how child poverty is ravaging local communities and what can be done to combat it.

The taskforce will be supported by a new child poverty unit in the Cabinet Office.

Education Minister Bridget Phillipson said: “Child poverty is a scar on our country. It affects children’s lives and life chances at home, at school and in our communities.”

“The scale of the challenge cannot be overstated, which is why this cross-government taskforce is so important to ensure that all departments support this goal and deliver on our mission to remove the barriers to equal opportunity for every child.

“We will work with stakeholders, families and, most importantly, children themselves, to ensure our approach is led by those most affected.”

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