Child Poverty Act 2010

Section 17

SCHEDULE 2 Continuing effect of targets after target year

Interpretation of Schedule

1 In this Schedule—

• “renewed target year” means—

  (a)

  a financial year in relation to which the Secretary of State is required by paragraph 2 to ensure that the targets are met, or

  (b)

  a financial year specified under paragraph 3(a);

• “the targets” means the targets in sections 3, 4 and 6 and, subject to paragraph 9, the target in section 5;

• “target statement”—

  (a)

  in relation to the target year, means the report required by section 14(3), and

  (b)

  in relation to a renewed target year, means the statement required by paragraph 8.

Duty to maintain targets

2 If the target statement relating to the target year or a renewed target year indicates that the targets have been met in relation to that financial year, the Secretary of State must ensure that they are also met in relation to the financial year following that in which that target statement is laid before Parliament.

Duty to make regulations requiring targets to be met in specified financial year

3 If the target statement relating to the target year or a renewed target year indicates that any of the targets has not been met in relation to that financial year, the Secretary of State must make regulations under this paragraph—

(a) requiring the Secretary of State to ensure that the targets are met in relation to a later financial year specified in the regulations,

(b) requiring the Secretary of State, the Scottish Ministers and the relevant Northern Ireland department to publish strategies,

(c) requiring consultation by the Secretary of State, in relation to any strategy prepared by the Secretary of State, with the persons mentioned in section 10(4)(a) to (d) and consultation by the Scottish Ministers and the relevant Northern Ireland department, in relation to strategies prepared by them, with the persons whom they are required to consult under section 13(3)(a) to (d), and

(d) requiring the Secretary of State to publish annual reports on the implementation of any strategy prepared by the Secretary of State.

4 Regulations under paragraph 3 must be made as soon as reasonably practicable after the time when the target statement referred to in that paragraph is laid before Parliament.

5 Regulations under paragraph 3 may confer or impose functions on the Commission.

6 The provision that may be made by regulations under paragraph 3 includes provision corresponding to that made (in relation to financial years not later than the target year) by any of the following—

(a) sections 9 and 10 (UK strategies);

(b) sections 11, 12 and 13 (Scottish and Northern Ireland strategies);

(c) section 14 (reports);

(d) paragraph 17 of Schedule 1 (provision of advice by Commission).

Economic and fiscal circumstances

7 (1) The matters mentioned in section 16(2) must be taken into account—

(a) by the Secretary of State in preparing a strategy under regulations under paragraph 3;

(b) by the Commission in considering any advice to be given under any such regulations.

(2) In preparing a strategy under regulations under paragraph 3, the Scottish Ministers or the relevant Northern Ireland department must have regard to the matters mentioned in section 16(3)(a) and (b).

Statement as to whether targets are met in relation to renewed target year

8 (1) The Secretary of State must, as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of each renewed target year, lay before Parliament a statement of—

(a) the percentage of children living in qualifying households in the United Kingdom in the renewed target year who were living in households that fell within the relevant income group for the purposes of section 3 (the relative low income target);

(b) the percentage of children living in qualifying households in the United Kingdom in the renewed target year who were for the purposes of section 4 (the combined low income and material deprivation target) living in households that fell within the relevant income group and experiencing material deprivation;

(c) if the absolute low income target in section 5 applies in relation to the renewed target year, the percentage of children living in qualifying households in the United Kingdom in the renewed target year who were living in households that fell within the relevant income group for the purposes of that section;

(d) the percentage of children who have lived in qualifying households during the survey years (as defined by section 6(2)) which relate to the renewed target year who have lived in households that fell within the relevant income group for the purposes of section 6 (the persistent poverty target) in at least 3 of the survey years.

(2) The statement must be based on statistics that the Statistics Board has designated under section 12 of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 (assessment) as National Statistics.

(3) Whether the targets have been met in relation to a renewed target year is to be determined by reference to the percentages given in the statement.

(4) If any of the targets has not been met, the statement must explain why it has not been met.

Power to exclude or modify absolute low income target

9 (1) Regulations may—

(a) amend the percentage specified in subsection (1) of section 5 (the absolute low income target) or the base year specified in subsection (4) of that section in their application in relation to any financial year later than the target year, or

(b) repeal section 5, and the reference to that section in section 25(3)(a).

(2) Regulations made by virtue of sub-paragraph (1)(b) do not affect the application of section 5 in relation to the target year or any other financial year before the regulations are made.