What is in the UK Government Child Poverty Strategy — and what it means for clothing poverty

When the government published ‘Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty’ on 5 December 2025, it produced the first comprehensive plan of its kind in more than a decade.¹ The strategy arrives at a time when material hardship, often most visible through the clothes children wear to school, in winter or in everyday life, is placing increasing strain on families. 

Although clothing is not treated as a standalone policy area, several measures in the strategy could influence clothing poverty, depending on how they are implemented and how families experience the changes. 

A strategy built around three core areas

The government aims to lift 500,000–550,000 children out of poverty by 2030.² ³ This projection depends on economic situations, inflation, implementation and household circumstances. 

The strategy focuses on three areas:¹ 

• Increasing family incomes 

• Reducing essential household costs 

• Strengthening early-years and local support 

These create the conditions under which families may find it easier to meet essential needs, including clothing. 

Income reforms: a potential turning point for larger families

The most significant income-related reform is the abolition of the two-child limit in Universal Credit and tax credits. Government modelling suggests removing the cap could reduce relative child poverty for 300,000–450,000 children once fully rolled out.⁴ This is a projection rather than a guarantee, but it represents one of the largest expected poverty reductions of any current policy. 

Because clothing costs rise sharply with each additional child, particularly for school uniform and seasonal items, larger families may experience improved financial stability. However, whether this translates into reduced clothing poverty will depend on broader household pressures such as rent, food costs and energy prices. 

Other income measures include: 

• Reforms to child maintenance to improve the reliability of payments from non-resident parents⁴ 

• Changes to childcare support and work incentives, aimed at helping parents remain in employment² 

These measures are designed to increase disposable income. If household budgets stabilise, families may be better able to meet essential clothing needs, though this will vary across circumstances. 

Reducing essential costs: creating room in household budgets

The strategy also aims to lower the unavoidable costs that often force families to delay clothing purchases. 

Key measures include: 

• An £8 million programme to reduce reliance on temporary accommodation⁴ 

• Expansion of free school meal eligibility and breakfast clubs⁴ 

• Measures addressing the cost of early-years essentials, such as infant formula⁴ 

These cost reductions may free up income for clothing, but their impact will depend on implementation, local authority capacity, and the wider cost-of-living environment. 

Clothing is not given a dedicated section in the strategy, yet it sits within the broad category of essential household spending that these reforms are intended to ease. 

A new measure that brings clothing poverty into view

One of the most important developments is the introduction of a “deep material poverty” measure.⁴ 

This indicator goes beyond income to assess whether families can afford: 

• Basic household items 

• Adequate clothing and footwear 

• Participation in essential school and social activities 

This means that inability to afford school uniform, winter coats or shoes will now appear in official government statistics, because these items are part of the deep material poverty assessment.¹⁴ 

While this does not, in itself, reduce clothing poverty, it ensures the issue becomes formally recorded and monitored—creating pressure for future intervention and creating a clearer evidence base for charities, schools and local authorities. 

What the Government Child Poverty Strategy could mean for clothing poverty

1. Clothing deprivation becomes measurable 

The inclusion of clothing within the deep material poverty measure ensures it is no longer an invisible issue. This provides robust national data for organisations working in the field. The effect on outcomes will depend on how government uses this data in future policymaking. 

2. Income gains may increase families’ ability to buy essential clothing 

The removal of the two-child limit has the potential to stabilise budgets for larger families, who typically face high clothing costs. However, whether this reduces clothing poverty will depend on competing pressures such as housing and food costs. 

3. Reduced essential costs may prevent clothing being sacrificed 

Lower food and childcare costs could free up income that families might otherwise divert away from clothing. The degree of impact will vary between households. 

4. Local support systems may strengthen clothing access 

Improved early-years support and investment in local authority services could expand the environment in which school clothing grants, uniform voucher schemes and clothing banks operate. This depends on local funding decisions and capacity. 

5. Monitoring increases accountability 

Annual reporting on deep material poverty—including clothing deprivation—creates a mechanism for tracking need. While this does not directly provide clothing, it makes gaps harder for policymakers to ignore.

Where Clothing Collective plays a role in combating clothing poverty  

Whilst we welcome the Government’s new strategy overall, including the measurement of some clothing-related elements in their official statistics, we also are realistic about how long this impact might take to filter down to the families who really need help. 

In the meantime, we will continue our push to help those who can’t afford clothing, to access this for their children. 

Our model of providing charity shop gift cards, distributed by frontline service partners, means that parents who are unable to afford clothing for their children can choose the right clothes they need, that fit them properly. 

Also, the gift cards are used in charity shops, therefore the charities who operate them (and in turn their service users) will also benefit from the monies received. 

This results in not only a lasting impact for people in need, but also something that works towards reducing the UK’s clothing poverty situation overall. 

Clothing poverty is preventable. Support Collective Clothing today to help us give every child the dignity they deserve. Donate to the Clothing Collective Christmas Appeal 2025 - JustGiving

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References

GOV.UK – ‘Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty’ (2025)

The Times – Reporting on Child Poverty Strategy aims and childcare measures (2025)

Family Fund – Summary analysis of projected child poverty reductions (2025)

The Guardian – Coverage of income reforms, two-child limit abolition, essential costs measures, and deep material poverty indicator (2025