Work isn't working: Family, work and progression on a low income
Most children in poverty in the UK are in working households, a phenomenon that has emerged since the early 2000s.
Our report, in collaboration with the IPPR, looks at the characteristics of in-work child poverty and how low-income working families can be better supported to progress in the labour market.
Despite an increase in the number of parents in employment seen over recent decades, financial security has not improved for many low-income families.
However, the government’s new Child Poverty Strategy and its wider Get Britain Working agenda provide a strong foundation to change this.
Supporting more working parents to progress in the labour market could, alongside social security, play an important role in driving progress on child poverty over the next decade.
In order to allow working parents to progress, our social security, employment support, skills and childcare systems must be better designed to meet the realities of modern working families.
Our report details five key recommendations for improving in-work child poverty:
- Fixing issues with universal credit childcare support
- Pilot an enhanced employment and progression offer for parents on universal credit
- Reform the in-work benefits and conditionality system to better facilitate progression for low-income working parents
- Design an adult skills policy that works for parents
- Increase the supply of flexible, good-quality and family-friendly jobs
