The government unveils its long-awaited child poverty strategy, pledging accessible childcare and an end to families living in B&Bs beyond legal limits.
Sir Keir Starmer stated that addressing the issue is a
"moral mission for me"
and that the strategy
"sets a new course for national renewal, with children's life chances at its heart"
in light of the record high of 4.45 million children living in poverty in the UK.
But campaigners have raised concern the approach does not go far enough, with Big Issue founder Lord John Bird warning against “warm words” and a strategy he claimed was lacking in “ambitious targets”.
Together with the Welsh First leader, the prime leader unveiled the idea in Wales on Friday while addressing people who would likely profit from it.
The administration unveiled the long-awaited ideas, claiming that failing to address child poverty hinders the economy since children raised in such conditions do worse in school, are more likely to be unemployed as adults, and earn less.
But crossbench peer Lord Bird, who experienced poverty as a child, said:
“The absence of ambitious targets to propel forward this government’s mission to reduce child poverty is deeply concerning.
In this challenging economic climate, there is every reason to worry warm words will not translate into tangible progress.”
The National Children's Bureau echoed this, stating that it wants to see
"binding targets for further reductions over 10 years but this level of ambition is sadly missing."
The best method to help children escape poverty, according to Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, is to
"grow the economy, make sure that their parents have jobs and that those jobs pay."
She added:
“What they did last week was create a budget for benefits. They’ve made some people poorer to give other people on benefits money.
That is not right, and after all of that, even the charity sector says they’re not ambitious. They’re right – this government should be ambitious, and the ambition should be to get Britain working, grow the economy, create jobs.”
At a cost of £3 billion, the crucial decision to eliminate the contentious two-child benefits cap starting in April of next year—which was already revealed in last week's budget—is expected to reduce child poverty by 450,000 by 2029–2030.
According to the government, the policy would raise 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030 when combined with other initiatives like the broader implementation of free school lunches.
In order to make it easier for new parents who receive universal credit to return to work, it has promised a rule change starting next year that will extend eligibility for upfront childcare fees to adults returning from maternity leave.
According to the government, the plan will "also end the unlawful placement of families in bed and breakfasts beyond the six-week limit." It also confirmed that an £8 million pilot program will be carried out over the next three years in 20 local authorities with the biggest numbers of families in this scenario.
It comes as homelessness minister Alison McGovern said she would consider herself “a failure” if newborns are still being discharged from hospital into bed and breakfast accommodation.
Ms McGovern told BBC Breakfast:
“It really, really shocked me to find out that in the five years to 2024, 74 children, including 58 babies, died and one of the causes that was attributed to their death was the effect of temporary accommodation, and that’s because of poor healthcare.
So as part of our child poverty strategy, we’re working with the NHS to make sure that no newborn baby is discharged from hospital into B&B accommodation, which I am so sorry to say, does occasionally happen, and then make sure the GPs are notified so that we can get proper healthcare.”
She added:
“If that’s still happening by the time I finish my job I will consider myself a failure.”
As of the end of June, 2,070 households in England with children had been staying in bed and breakfast for longer than six weeks, according to the most available data.
According to the law, such accommodations can only be used temporarily in an emergency and for a maximum of six weeks.
A proposed amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill in Parliament would also require councils to inform schools, health visitors, and general practitioners when a child is placed in temporary housing.
In order to "end the practice of mothers with newborns being discharged to B&Bs or other forms of unsuitable housing," the government announced that it will collaborate with the NHS.
Charity for Homelessness According to Crisis, this kind of action has "the potential to save lives, as we know young children have tragically died in unsuitable temporary accommodation."
According to a report published in January by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Households in Temporary Accommodation, temporary housing was identified as a potential contributing factor in the deaths of 74 children in England, the majority of whom were infants.
However, in order to "relegate homelessness to the history books," Crisis and Shelter both urged the government to unfreeze housing benefits and construct additional social rent apartments.
The Child Poverty Action Group applauded the government's declaration that the plan is "the first step on our road to ending child poverty," acknowledging that "there is much to do."
Although expanding free school meals and eliminating the two-child restriction "will improve the lives of children up and down the country," the government "must now build on this momentum to achieve more tangible change for children," according to its chief executive, Alison Garnham.
The Children's Society stated that the plan includes
"bold measures to improve childhoods not the sticking plaster measures of the past,"
according to Save the Children UK.
In the meantime, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank reported that its analysis indicated that the elimination of the two-child restriction will result in greater proportional improvements in household income in areas with higher rates of child poverty.
It said in 2026/27, the mean income for households receiving such benefits will grow by 0.32 per cent in Yorkshire and the Humber, 0.31 per cent in Wales and 0.30 per cent in the North West.
The group predicted the North West will experience the highest reduction in child poverty by the conclusion of this parliament, with roughly 90,000 children lifted out of poverty.
Sir Keir said:
“Too many children are growing up in poverty, held back from getting on in life, and too many families are struggling without the basics: a secure home, warm meals and the support they need to make ends meet.
I will not stand by and watch that happen, because the cost of doing nothing is too high for children, for families and for Britain.”
How will the strategy change Universal Credit childcare support?
The UK Child Poverty Strategy changes Universal Credit childcare support from 2026 by extending outspoken payments to parents returning from maternal leave and allowing claims for all children (removing the two- child cap limit), easing the" debt trap" where families pay nursery freights out- of- fund before payment.
Presently, working UC heirs get up to 85% of costs refunded (limited at £1,031/ month for one child, £1,768 for two), but must pay outspokenly. New rules broaden eligibility for advance payments to new parents post- motherliness/ maternity leave, enabling faster poolre-entry without original debt, erecting on 2023 reforms.
For the first time, UC families with further than two children can claim support for every child, aligning with the two- child benefit cap invalidation in April 2026 and targeting 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030 amid rising nursery costs.