Recommendation 5

DWP’s analysis of the drivers of child income poverty from 2014 concluded that a key factor was the quantity and quality of paid work in families. Since this analysis, the labour market has continued to evolve and more children in income poverty are now in working families. We have seen the disruption caused by the pandemic and there has been a further decoupling of social security from the cost of living. We think the time is now right for the Department to revisit its analysis.