Fifth Special Report - Children in poverty: Measurements and targets: Government Response to the Committee’s Third Report

This is the government's response, published 6 December 2021.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government says tackling child poverty is "a cross-government priority" and, in its response, largely declines or defers the Committee's recommendations on new research, expanded indicators and a new strategy, while committing to continue publishing the four statutory measures.

• On commissioning a systematic review of the evidence on child income poverty, it states: "We have no plans to commission a published systematic review at this time."
• It will continue to publish all four statutory low income measures. Analysts "are intending to review" the material deprivation goods and services, and the government will update the Committee "in due course".
• On widening the 'Helping Workless Families Indicators', it says it does "not intend to expand the scope of this publication further at this time", as statistics on the quantity and quality of work are published elsewhere.
• It remains committed to publishing Households Below Average Income in March 2022, "subject to the usual checks on data quality". On local area housing-cost estimates it has "no immediate plans", and on a Family Resources Survey subgroup list by June 2022 it says this is "not possible".

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error