Thank you for contacting me about the Welfare Reform and Work Bill.
This Bill is part of the process of moving Britain from a high welfare, high tax, low wage society to a lower welfare, lower tax and higher wage society. It will ensure that the right support and incentives are in place so that people are always better off in work, while protecting those most in need.
The Government is committed to improving life chances for all children. We need measures that drive the right action to tackle the root causes of poverty, rather than the symptoms. The new approach in this Bill will focus Government action on making sure parents can work and children are able to achieve the best educational outcomes. That is why the Bill introduces new life chances measures of worklessness and educational attainment. There will also be a number of non-statutory measures including on family stability, addiction and problem debt.
Unfortunately, opportunities are limited for too many children who are born into disadvantage. The new educational attainment measure will drive action to help all children succeed at school and improve their life chances. Since the introduction of the Pupil Premium, which gives schools extra funding for disadvantaged pupils, attainment has increased in both primary and secondary schools. More than four-fifths of all schools in England are now 'good' or 'outstanding', the highest proportion since Ofsted began inspecting schools.
We also know that work is the best route out of poverty, which is why the Government is focused on improving work incentives and ensuring people have the skills and the opportunities to move into employment. The proportion of children in workless households is the lowest since records began in 1996, with the number down by more than 20 per cent since 2010.
On the issue of Child Tax Credit, it is important to be fair to the many working families whose budgets do not rise when they have more children. The average number of dependent children in families in the UK in 2012 was 1.7. I think it is therefore fair and proportionate to limit support through tax credits to two children. There will be no cash losers as the change only applies to new claims. Child Benefit is being maintained for all children and, from September 2017, all working parents of 3 and 4 year olds will also begin to receive free childcare of up to 30 hours a week. Crucially, these changes come alongside the introduction of the National Living Wage, which will mean those currently on the minimum wage will see their pay increase by a third by 2020.
I hope this helps to explain the basis for the Government's approach and alleviates concerns. Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
