UK Government must scrap the unfair two-child limit at the Budget, say leading children’s charities

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

28/10/2024

 

UK Government must scrap the unfair two-child limit at the Budget, say leading children’s charities

Since the Labour party took office on 4th July, and by the time the Budget is announced, a staggering 12,500* children have been plunged into poverty due to the two-child limit on benefit payments. This shocking surge adds to the 1.6 million children already suffering under this unnecessary policy.

Leading children’s charities (the End Child Poverty Coalition, Save the Children, Action for Children, Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), Centre for Young Lives, Gingerbread, Barnardo’s and the National Children’s Bureau) have joined together to call on the government to include scrapping the two-child limit in the Budget on 30th October. Two of these organisations, Save the Children and CPAG, are also assisting the government with evidence gathering ahead of the publication of the Child Poverty Strategy in Spring 2025.**

These charities are supported by the 120 members of the End Child Poverty Coalition, an alliance of national, regional and local anti-poverty organisations, united in the view that child poverty in the UK can be addressed via government action.

Joseph Howes, CEO of Buttle UK and Chair of the End Child Poverty Coalition said;

‘The two-child limit must be scrapped: children cannot wait any longer for government action. We don’t say only two children in a family can go to school, or that the third sibling cannot receive hospital treatment, so why do we limit benefit payments to only two children? By scrapping this policy, this government would be recognised as one that turns the tide on rising levels of child poverty across the UK’.

Victoria Benson, CEO of Gingerbread said;

‘Scrapping the two-child limit is a quick and cost-effective way to lift children out of poverty and it’s disappointing that our Government hasn’t committed to doing this. The majority of families hit by the two-child limit are single parent families who are already almost twice as likely to be living in poverty, compared to couple parent families. There is no doubt it is a cruel policy that has done little to meet its aim of increasing employment levels and yet it has left hundreds of thousands of single parent households in poverty.  If our Government wants to tackle child poverty it must scrap the two child limit as soon as possible.’

Becca Lyon, Head of Child Poverty for Save the Children UK, said: 

‘The time for action on the two-child limit to benefits is now and the UK Government must scrap this cruel policy. Children cannot wait any longer to receive the same amount of money as their siblings. Our society should be one where being born after your siblings shouldn’t exclude you from support. These are political choices, and the Budget is a chance for the UK Government to right the record for thousands of children.” 

 

The two-child limit to benefit payments is an unfair policy which limits the amount of money families in receipt of social security payments receive for the third or subsequent child born after April 2017. Families affected by it miss out on up to £3455 per child per year.

The policy pushes families into poverty. Recent analysis published by CPAG has shown that for every day this policy remains in place, 109 children are being pulled into poverty.* End Child Poverty Coalition analysis has shown there is a strong positive correlation between child poverty figures and the number of children living in families impacted by the two-child limit.***

Unless this issue is urgently addressed, the government’s upcoming Child Poverty Strategy will fall short of delivering meaningful change. Lifting the two-child limit is a critical step towards to halting the harmful cycle of deprivation and despair.

Children can no longer wait for change. The ‘sibling tax’ must be scrapped.

 

*More information on the government’s plans to engage on the Preventing Child Poverty Strategy here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-child-poverty-developing-our-strategy

**109 children a day are pulled into poverty by this policy every day, research has found https://cpag.org.uk/news/10000-children-dragged-poverty-two-child-limit-labour-took-office

*** More information on this research can be found here: https://endchildpoverty.org.uk/child-poverty-2024/

 

 

Notes to editor:

The full statement that these organisations have jointly signed reads:

Statement on the need to scrap the two-child limit to benefit payments

 

12,500 more children will have been pulled into poverty as a direct result of the two-child limit to benefit payments – since the government came to power on 4th July. These children join 1.6 million others who are already living in households whose income is limited by the two-child limit.

We call on the government to scrap the two-child limit in its first Budget to prevent more harm. We know that immediately scrapping the two-child limit is a necessary first step to begin to reduce the number of children in poverty across the UK today. Now is the time to act: children can’t wait.

We are joined by over 120 national, regional and local anti-poverty organisations – all members of the End Child Poverty Coalition – in calling for this unfair ‘sibling tax’ to be scrapped.

Signed,

Joseph Howes – CEO of Buttle UK and Chair of the End Child Poverty Coalition

Alison Garnham, CEO of Child Poverty Action Group

Anna Feuchtwang, CEO of the National Children’s Bureau

Victoria Benson, CEO of Gingerbread

Becca Lyon, Head of Child Poverty for Save the Children UK

Paul Carberry, CEO of Action for Children

Anne Longfield, Founder and Executive Chair of the Centre for Young Lives

Lynn Perry, Chief Executive of Barnardo’s

 

A member of the coalition is available for further comment if required.

 

The End Child Poverty coalition (www.endchildpoverty.org.uk) is made up of over 120 organisations from civic society including children’s charities, child welfare organisations, social justice groups, faith groups, trade unions and others, united in our vision of a UK free of child poverty.

 

You can get in touch with the coalition by emailing rachel@endchildpoverty.org.uk or on 07918 567577.

 

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