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<p>It is not possible to produce a robust estimate of the impact of removing the £20
uplift on child poverty. This is particularly the case at the moment given the uncertainty
around the speed of the economic recovery, and how this will be distributed across
the population.</p><p>The Chancellor announced a temporary six-month extension to
the £20 per week uplift at the Budget on 3 March to support households affected by
the economic shock of Covid-19. Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for
six million people during the pandemic, and the temporary uplift was part of a COVID
support package worth a total of £407 billion in 2020-21 and 2021-22.</p><p>There
have been significant positive developments in the public health situation since the
uplift was first introduced. With the success of the vaccine rollout and record job
vacancies, it is right that our focus is on helping people back into work. Helping
parents to move into and remain in work offers the best opportunity for families to
move out of poverty and to improve children’s long-term outcomes. A child living in
a household where every adult is working is about 5 times less likely to be in absolute
poverty (before housing costs) than a child in a household where nobody works.</p><p>Through
our Plan for Jobs, we are targeting tailored support schemes of people of all ages
to help them prepare for, get into and progress in work. These include: Kickstart,
delivering tens of thousands of six-month work placements for Universal Credit claimants
aged 16-24 at risk of unemployment; Restart, which provides 12 months’ intensive employment
support to Universal Credit claimants who are unemployed for a year; and JETS, which
provides light touch employment support for people who are claiming either Universal
Credit or New Style Jobseekers Allowance, for up to 6 months, helping participants
effectively re-engage with the labour market and focus their job search. We have also
recruited an additional 13,500 work coaches to provide more intensive support to find
a job. In total, our Plan for Jobs interventions will support more than two million
people.</p><p>This Government is wholly committed to supporting those on low incomes,
and continues to do so through many measures, including by increasing the living wage,
and by spending over £111 billion on welfare support for people of working age in
2021/22.</p><p>This year, we are also investing up to £220m in the Holiday Activities
and Food programme, which has been expanded to every Local Authority across England.
Participating children will benefit from a range of support, including a healthy and
nutritious meal as well as fun and engaging activities covering the Easter, summer
and Christmas holidays in 2021. We also increased the value of Healthy Start Food
Vouchers from £3.10 to £4.25 in April, which helps eligible low income households
buy basic foods like milk, fruit and vitamins.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
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