As lawmakers discuss changes to the laws unveiled in today’s King’s Speech, Labour is hearing more and more calls to do away with the cap on benefits for having two children.
In response to a question on where the funding for the cap would come from, Rachel Reeves has stated that she will not commit to lifting it. The chancellor claims that abandoning the program will cost £3 billion, exceeding allotted funds by the government.
There are four modifications to the King’s Speech that will be discussed, one of which is the elimination of the two-child benefit cap. Members of Parliament from all political stripes have put them forth. One is from Labour MPs, the other from Jeremy Corbyn, the now-independent MP for the Greens.
John McDonnell, Zarah Sultana, and fourteen other people are among them. Prior to the discussion, Ms. Sultana expressed her strong opinions on Twitter and X, saying, “When people say there’s no money to scrap the two-child benefit cap, they’re not looking in the right places.”
Everything you need to know about the contentious DWP policy is provided below:
What is the two-child benefit cap?
Parents are unable to collect tax credits or universal credit for their third child due to the two-child benefit cap. The Conservatives proposed it, and it became operative in April 2017. It only has an impact on kids who were born after April 6, 2017.
George Osbourne, the chancellor at the time, also proposed a number of additional modifications to the benefits system. “To make the same choices as those supporting themselves solely through work,” is how the Conservatives explained the purpose of the measures.
According to the most recent official statistics, the program has an impact on 1.6 million children who live in households. Politicians, activists, and nonprofit organizations from all political stripes have urged the incoming administration to revoke the policy.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said that “too many children are growing up in poverty” and called child poverty a “stain on our society” in response to the most recent statistics.
She declared: “By delivering our manifesto commitment to implement an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty, we will work to give every child the best start in life.”
Following the announcement of the Children’s Wellbeing Bill in the King’s Speech, the government formed a taskforce to address child poverty.
This piece of legislation limits the amount of branded uniforms that schools can request, enhances child safety systems, and offers free breakfast clubs to all primary school students.
On the other hand, a lot of campaigners were upset that the speech did not announce the two-child benefit cap. “The new Government pledged an ambitious approach to tackling child poverty but there was little to help achieve that aim in the speech today,” the Child Poverty Action Group said in response to the speech.
“The two-child limit is the main cause of the rise in child poverty; postponing its repeal will negatively impact many more young people’s lives and undermine government initiatives to reduce poverty.”
According to earlier research from the advocacy organizations, removing the cap would enable one million children to escape poverty, 300,000 to do so completely, and an additional 700,000 to escape extreme poverty. According to their findings, 93% of parents who are affected by the legislation claim that it makes it harder for them to afford food.
Labour continues to reject calls to abandon the divisive program, claiming they have economic obligations. Protesters are hoping that the incoming administration will declare the measure’s termination in its first Budget. However, the party made a commitment in its election manifesto to adhere to stringent budgetary policies and few revenue-raising methods, and they appear to be doing so as of right now.
