Homelessness and Poverty
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what comparative data his Department holds on rates of (a) child poverty and (b) homelessness in (i) Surrey Heath constituency, (ii) Surrey, (iii) the South East and (iv) England.
Answered by Dame Diana Johnson
Statistics on the number of children living in absolute and relative poverty in the UK are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication, the latest available being: Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2024 - GOV.UK.
Statistics on the number of children living in absolute and relative poverty on a before housing costs basis at local level are published annually in the “Children in low income families: local area statistics” publication, the latest available being: Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2024 - GOV.UK.
Homelessness statistics are published by MHCLG: Statutory homelessness in England: financial year 2024-25 - GOV.UK
Ahead of Child Poverty Strategy publication, we have already taken substantive action across major drivers of child poverty. The removal of the two child limit will lift 450,000 children out of poverty, rising to around 550,000 alongside other measures announced this year, such as the expansion of free school meals. These interventions will lead to the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began.
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