Child and Health - Market Engagement

Child poverty in the UK has increased by 900,000 children since 2010/11. 4.5 million children now live in poverty and 1.1 million have used foodbanks within the last 12 months. Tackling child poverty is central to this government’s mission to remove barriers to opportunity and raise the healthiest generation of children ever.

On 5th December 2025, the government published Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty: https://shorturl.at/tRli9, which sets out immediate actions to reduce poverty and the long‑term foundations needed to change its trajectory. As part of the Strategy, DHSC has committed to engage with the market and wider stakeholders outside of government to better understand and explore potential opportunities for collaboration to address the health impacts of child poverty.

The purpose of this notice is to announce that DHSC will be hosting a virtual roundtable event with a Q&A on 15th April 2026. The roundtable will involve a facilitated discussion on what organisations are doing, or interested in doing, to tackle the health impacts of child poverty. Please see the letter from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care inviting industry to the virtual roundtable: https://shorturl.at/r7ZWr.