Queen’s Speech failed most vulnerable families

The Queen’s Speech was a chance to redress the balance and announce useful measures that would tackle the immediate challenge. While there was an acknowledgement of it, the government’s focus was on economic recovery and getting people into work, rather than strengthening the social security safety net that families desperately need.

We know that 75 per cent of children in poverty have at least one parent or guardian in work, so what is being done to strengthen social security safety nets and tackle in-work poverty, as well as help for non-working families? There was a lack of ambitious, targeted strategies to specifically tackle child poverty or help families with children. Extending free school meals to all children whose families receive universal credit or increasing child benefit would have made a significant difference to so many families.