Usdaw welcomes Peers passing the Bill and looks forward to Royal Assent

Baroness Sherlock - minister of state in the Department for Work and Pensions told the House of Lords: “Every pound we spend lifting children out of poverty saves so much more in future health, education and social security costs. There are few investments that will reap rewards as great as investing in the next generation, in our future workforce.”

Joanne Thomas – Usdaw general secretary says: “Ending the two-child cap will do more than any other measure to lift children out of poverty, and we welcome that this cruel Tory policy is being scrapped. The UK is one of the seven wealthiest nations in the world, yet millions of our kids are growing up in poverty, which is absolutely shameful, particularly with 7 in 10 of them in working households. 

“Labour is turning around a 14-year legacy of Tory failure, when child poverty rose by about 900,000 after 2010. The Government has made a good start by delivering a significant increase in minimum wage rates and helping to make jobs more secure with the Employment Rights Act. All these initiatives should make a real difference to working families, as has the rolling out of free breakfast clubs, new nurseries in primary schools and doubling free childcare to 30 hours a week. 

“We call on the Government to continue to take bold steps to lift more children out of poverty, including comprehensive implementation of all aspects of their Plan to Make Work Pay, reform of Universal Credit, and delivering improvements through the parental leave and pay review.”