Tag: Child poverty

Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill: Bishop of Leicester welcomes legislation

The Bishop of Leicester spoke at the second reading of the Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill on 12th March 2026, welcoming the bill and criticising the impact of the two child limit on poverty and the associated sense of shame those engaging with the welfare system are made to feel:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, I warmly welcome the introduction of the Bill and the opportunity today to comment on it. I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Teather, on her truly excellent maiden speech, and I look forward to the maiden contributions of the noble Baroness, Lady Antrobus, and the noble Lord, Lord Walker, as well as of other noble Lords.

I count myself very fortunate to have never experienced true poverty myself, but I have spent much of my working life living in communities where poverty was very real—both the absolute poverty of one of the poorest nations in Africa, where I worked for several years, and the relative poverty of inner-city Sheffield, where I was vicar for a decade before becoming Bishop of Leicester.

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Bishop of Leicester asks about free school meal enrollment

The Bishop of Leicester asked a question on barriers to auto-enrolment of children for Free School Meals, during a discussion on the government’s Child Poverty Strategy on 2nd March 2026:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, like many others, I warmly welcome the child poverty strategy; there is much to commend it, such as—to pick one particular aspect—the expansion of free school meals for children. However, I have a question about auto-enrolment of children for free school meals. There is much evidence to show that auto-enrolment not only lifts children out of poverty but increases educational attainment and allows schools to ensure that they get the pupil premium needed. Can the Minister therefore tell us what barriers remain for the introduction of auto-enrolment?

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Bishop of Leicester asks about free school meal registration

The Bishop of Leicester received the following written answer on 23rd February 2026:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of potential data processing measures to enable automatic registration for free school meals.

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Bishop of Lincoln asks about tackling child poverty

The Bishop of Lincoln tabled a question on facilitating consultation and collaboration with faith-based and voluntary sector organisations to deliver the Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty strategy on 3rd February 2026:

The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to facilitate consultation and collaboration with faith-based and voluntary sector organisations to deliver the Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty strategy, published on 5 December 2025.

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Bishop of Derby asks about preventing drug and alcohol addiction in young people

The Bishop of Derby asked a question on early intervention for young people towards preventing alcoholism and drug addiction, and funding for local councils to deliver this intervention on 16th December 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, I welcome the continued investment of £185 million allocated to the rough sleeping drug and alcohol treatment programme from 2026 to 2029. But what progress has been made towards this Government’s safer streets and opportunity missions to improve support and early intervention, particularly for children and young people who are struggling with the dual crises of substance abuse and experiencing homelessness? Is this work one of the factors being used to determine which additional councils will receive this new funding?

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Bishop of Leicester asks about publication of the government’s child poverty strategy

The Bishop of Leicester received the following written answer on 20th October 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester asked His Majesty’s Government when they plan to publish the child poverty strategy.

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Bishop of Leicester asks about methods of tackling child poverty

The Bishop of Leicester asked a question on listening to the voices of children and young people in tackling child poverty on 10th September 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, my question is also not about the two-child limit, though I am fully supportive of its removal. Can the Minister say something about listening to the voices of children and young people within the formation of the strategy and give some examples of how the voices of children and young people have maybe changed the mind of the Government in their approach?

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Bishop of Lincoln asks about need for affordable housing to combat child poverty

The Bishop of Lincoln received the following written answer on 1st September 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Lincoln asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the report by the Children’s Commissioner, Growing up in a low-income family: Children’s experiences, published on 8 July; and (2) the recommendation that children in low-income households be prioritised for access to new homes under the Affordable Homes Programme.

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Bishop of Leicester asks about welfare reform and child poverty

On 9th July 2025, the Bishop of Leicester asked a question on approaches to welfare provision and the need to tackle child poverty:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, reference has already been made to the Children’s Commissioner’s report published yesterday, which gives voice to the experiences of children and young people in poverty. It makes for harrowing reading, including one boy who was faced with the choice of going hungry or eating mouldy food, and many other such difficult stories. Will the Minister commit to ensuring that all the Government’s work on welfare will be based on the human dignity and equal value of every person in this country?

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Bishop of Lincoln asks about child poverty

The Bishop of Lincoln received the following written answer on 2nd June 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Lincoln asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report published on 29 January by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, UK poverty 2025, which indicated that coastal areas in England have a disproportionate rate of child poverty.

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