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| Child Poverty Act 2010 | |
|---|---|
| Title | Child Poverty Act 2010 |
| Enacted by | Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Long title | An Act to make provision about a target for the reduction of poverty among children; to make provision about the measurement of poverty; and for connected purposes. |
| Year | 2010 |
| Citation | 2010 c. 9 |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales; Northern Ireland; Scotland |
| Royal assent | 12 July 2010 |
| Repealed by | Welfare Reform Act 2012 |
Child Poverty Act 2010
The Child Poverty Act 2010 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom establishing statutory targets for the reduction of child poverty and a framework for measurement, reporting and ministerial accountability. The Act required the UK Government to set and publish targets and to produce a strategy with duties on the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Secretary of State for Education, Chancellor of the Exchequer and other ministers. Introduced under the Brown ministry and enacted shortly before the 2010 United Kingdom general election, the Act became a focal point for debates involving the Coalition government (United Kingdom) and subsequent welfare reforms.
The Act originated from commitments in the Every Child Matters policy agenda and cross-party discussions following the 2005 United Kingdom general election and the publication of the Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK reports. It was developed during the tenure of Gordon Brown and formed part of the legislative programme alongside measures such as the Equality Act 2010 and the Children Act 2004. The Bill passed through the House of Commons and the House of Lords, with significant input from parliamentary committees including the Work and Pensions Select Committee and the Education Select Committee. During passage, amendments were tabled by MPs affiliated with the Labour Party (UK), the Conservative Party (UK) and the Liberal Democrats (UK), reflecting differing approaches advocated by figures such as Iain Duncan Smith and Ed Miliband.
The Act mandated the publication of targets for reducing child poverty, including absolute and relative measures linked to income thresholds used by the Department for Work and Pensions and statistical bodies such as the Office for National Statistics. It required the Secretary of State to prepare a child poverty strategy and to report annually to Parliament of the United Kingdom on progress, with duties affecting interactions with devolved administrations including the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. The statutory targets echoed international commitments under instruments such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and aligned with indicators used by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the European Union.
Implementation relied on data from the Family Resources Survey and the Households Below Average Income series compiled by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Office for National Statistics. The Act created reporting duties that required collaboration between ministers such as the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and agencies including Her Majesty's Treasury and local authorities like London Borough of Hackney. Parliamentary scrutiny involved reports from the National Audit Office and interventions by advocacy organisations such as Child Poverty Action Group, Barnardo's and Save the Children. Monitoring also engaged academic centres including the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the London School of Economics.
Following the 2010 general election, the Coalition government (United Kingdom) led by David Cameron reviewed the Act; the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions announced changes culminating in repeal provisions in the Welfare Reform Act 2012. The repeal removed statutory targets and replaced them with ministerial reporting duties, provoking legal and political challenges in venues such as the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and judicial review proceedings in the High Court of Justice. Campaigns against repeal involved organisations including Citizens Advice and Action for Children, and debate continued in parliamentary arenas including the House of Commons Select Committee on Work and Pensions.
Scholars at the Institute for Fiscal Studies and commentators from the Resolution Foundation assessed the Act's limited practical impact due to its reliance on income-based measures and the complexity of interdepartmental delivery. Critics including Frank Field and organisations such as the Trussell Trust argued that the Act's metrics failed to capture material deprivation addressed in studies by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Campaign to End Child Poverty. Supporters cited alignment with international standards set by the United Nations and evidence from evaluations by the National Children's Bureau. The repeal and subsequent welfare reforms under the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 and Budget (2010) austerity policies intensified debate about effective statutory mechanisms for reducing child poverty.
The Act paralleled statutory targets and strategies in jurisdictions such as New Zealand, Sweden, Canada (provincial strategies), and elements of the European Union social inclusion agenda. Comparative studies by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nations Children's Fund assessed differing approaches to measurement, with reference to policy instruments like the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 and programmes in Australia and Germany. The Act's emphasis on annual reporting resembled requirements in other OECD states but contrasted with integrated welfare models in the Nordic countries.
Category:United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2010 Category:Child welfare in the United Kingdom