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<p>These statistics cover 2022/23, a year when war in Ukraine and global supply chain
challenges led to unexpected and high rates on inflation, averaging 10% over the year.
These factors are reflected in the statistics. In response to these pressures, the
Government provided an unprecedented cost of living support package which helped to
shield households from the impact of inflation. Analysis shows that the Government’s
cost of living support prevented 1.3 million people from falling into absolute poverty
after housing costs in 2022/23. That includes 300,000 children, 600,000 working-age
adults and 400,000 pensioners.</p><p> </p><p>Since the period covered by these statistics,
the Government has taken firm action to support families on the lowest incomes. The
Government has spent around £276bn through the welfare system in 2023/24, including
around £125bn on people of working age and children. We took action to support those
on the lowest incomes by uprating benefits and State Pensions by 10.1% from April
2023. We are continuing to support people in 2024/25 by uprating working age benefits
by 6.7% and raising the Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30<sup>th</sup> percentile
of local market rents, benefiting 1.6 million low-income households.</p><p> </p><p>With
over 900,000 vacancies across the UK, our focus remains firmly on supporting parents
to move into and progress in work, an approach which is based on clear evidence about
the importance of parental employment - particularly where it is full-time - in substantially
reducing the risk of child poverty. The latest statistics show that in 2022/23, children
living in workless households were over 6 times more likely to be in absolute poverty
(after housing costs) than those where all adults work.</p>
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