Meeting of the Parliament 18 June 2026 [Draft]
The Government does not intend to publish another child poverty delivery plan. I know that our current targets for 2030 are challenging and we are determined to meet them. We are content that there is a credible path to do so, despite everything that is happening in the rest of the UK and internationally.
I go back to what I have announced, which is a review of the type of targets. We are in a situation in which funded early learning and childcare and school-age childcare does not have a direct impact on targets and, therefore, the impact of that on families is not counted. Our whole family wellbeing funding programme, which is about disrupting and breaking the cycle of poverty so that we are changing systemic and intergenerational poverty, is not measured as part of an income-based target. The Government has invested nearly £2.9 million into school meal debt which, again, does not impact on our income-based targets.
Our targets have driven our focus and delivery, but it is important to reflect on the investment that the Government is making in areas that do not impact directly on those targets. It is sensible for us to take a step back to look at what we are measuring, ensure that we are doing it correctly and that we are measuring the impact on people. I assure the chamber that, as we continue with the review that will start in the summer, it will not distract the Government from the delivery of the expansion of childcare, the £2 bus fare cap and the other measures that I mentioned in my statement.