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<p>The report looks at a broad range of policy areas and, while we have made no specific
assessment of the report itself, my Department continues to monitor the impact of
its policies.</p><p>The Government is committed to reducing poverty, including child
poverty, and supporting low-income families. We will spend around £276bn through the
welfare system in Great Britain in 2023/24 including around £124bn on people of working
age and children.</p><p>Our approach to tackling poverty is based on clear evidence
that parental employment, particularly where its full time, reduces the risk of poverty.
In the financial year 2021 to 2022, children living in households where all adults
work were around 5 times less likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs
than those living in workless households.</p><p>The Government is putting significant
additional support in place for those on the lowest incomes from April. Subject to
Parliamentary approval, working age benefits will rise by 6.7% while the Basic and
New State Pensions will be uprated by 8.5% in line with earnings, as part of the ‘triple
lock”.</p><p>To further support low-income households with increasing rent costs,
the government will raise Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of
local market rents, benefitting 1.6m low-income households by on average £800 a year
in 24/25. Additionally, the Government will increase the National Living Wage for
workers aged 21 years and over by 9.8% to £11.44 representing an increase of over
£1,800 to the gross annual earnings of a full-time worker on the National Living Wage.</p><p>
</p><p>The current Household Support Fund runs from April 2023 until the end of March
2024, and the Government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review
in the usual way.</p>
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