MP backs incentive to work to drive down child poverty
24th January 2012
Speaking in response to a question in Parliament on child poverty, Harriett Baldwin backs the universal credit and the fact that every hour of work will count towards increased reward for the household, thereby providing an incentive to work and reducing the number of children growing up in workless households.
Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con): With 2 million children living in workless households, does the Minister agree that the essential steps include not only the additional child care places, but the universal credit and the fact that every hour of work will count towards increased reward for the household? That is an essential part of those fiscal measures.
Miss Smith: I certainly do agree with my hon. Friend, and on a couple of counts. First, poverty is not about income: it is about work. I am sure that she will agree that it is a crying shame that under the previous Government the number of children in workless households reached one in every six. I also agree with the chief executive of The Big Issue, who says in The Times today that “You don’t help the poor by making them dependent on handouts”.
