A/HRC/41/39/Add.3 disadvantaged pupils and others has narrowed by 9.5% since 2011 and the proportion of children in workless families is at an all-time low of 9.9%. 9. New experimental statistics to measure poverty will be developed, and published by DWP in 2020, with analysis based on the work undertaken by the Social Metric Commission’s (SMC) which was presented in the SMC ‘A New Measure of Poverty’ report last year. Food Security 10. To improve statistics on household food security, DWP introduced several new questions into the Family Resources Survey in April 2019. The new data will provide information on families experiencing food insecurity, allowing us to investigate drivers and identify groups most at risk. The new questions follow a well-established and internationally recognised methodology, used in the US Adult Food Security Survey Module. The first results will be available in Spring 2021. Welfare Reforms: Recommendation D, F, G, H and I 11. Reforms to the welfare system were implemented to help people into work, support those in need, and be fair to everyone paying for it. 12. Evidence shows that employment provides the best opportunity to escape poverty and move towards financial independence. Adults in workless families are around 4 times more likely to be in poverty than those in working families. Children in workless households are around 5 times more likely to be in poverty after housing costs than those where all adults work. Benefits System 13. The UK Government had to take decisive action to respond to the challenging fiscal position following the 2008 financial crisis. It introduced several measures to ensure fairness in the benefits system, incentivise work and return towards fiscal balance. 14. The four-year benefit freeze was introduced at a time when benefits were outstripping earnings growth. The Chancellor has made clear that we do not intend to extend the freeze when it ends in April 2020. 15. The policy limiting benefits to two children per family is about fairness: working families don’t see their wages increase with each new child and it’s right that families on benefits make similar financial decisions. However, certain groups are exempt from the policy, including households with children who are adopted, or being cared for as part of a friends-and-family caring arrangement. No family that was claiming for a child before the policy limiting benefits to two children per family was introduced, will have associated benefits removed. Child Benefit, moreover, is not subject to the above policy. 16. The national benefit cap of £20,000 is equivalent to gross family earnings of around £24,000. People on Universal Credit (UC) earning above £569 a month are exempt from the cap, providing a clear incentive to move into work. Households receiving disability benefits, entitled to Carer’s Allowance, or Guardian’s Allowance are also exempt. This fairness of the policy is recognised by the general public: 73% support it. 17. DWP commissioned the National Centre for Social Research to examine the new lower, tiered benefit cap. This will form part of the overall benefit cap evaluation, alongside DWP analysis of capped households, quality assured by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. We anticipate publishing the findings later in 2019. 18. The removal of the Spare Room Subsidy in 2013, for all working age Housing Benefit and UC claimants who are under-occupying social housing, aims to reduce housing support expenditure, better use social housing stock, strengthen work incentives, and align with size criteria rules in the private rented sector. 3