Jonathan Reynolds MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, commenting on a report today from End Child Poverty which analyses the increase in child poverty in different parts of the country, said:

“This report, based on the government’s own data, shows a very worrying picture of rising child poverty over the past four years. It is shocking to see that two-thirds of children in poverty are in working families, up by 4% across the country, and by 14% in parts of London.

“The effects of the Tory government’s punitive cuts to social security over the past four years are being felt all over the country. The Covid-19 crisis is putting families under further pressure and exacerbating already unacceptable levels of child poverty. That’s why Labour has called for an emergency package of social security reforms, including scrapping the two-child limit and benefit cap, to help parents provide for their children during this emergency.”