“Ending the two child limit would lift 300,000 children out of poverty and mean 800,000 children are less deep in poverty, at an estimated cost of £1.8bn. It is the most cost-effective way of reducing child poverty” – Elaine Hoctor
Elaine Hoctor condemns this key driver of child poverty.
Child poverty matters
Four million children in the UK are living in poverty. That’s nine in every class of thirty. Poverty means children arriving at school hungry, returning to a cold home, wearing clothes and shoes that don’t fit, missing out on everyday childhood experiences such as trips and having friends round for tea. It damages children’s education, health, and life chances.
Recent research by Loughborough University for the End Child Poverty Coalition found that in two thirds of UK parliamentary constituencies at least a quarter of children are now growing up in poverty, rising to 90% of constituencies in North East and North West England and Wales. The End Child Poverty Coalition, made up of eighty charities, faith groups, and unions, said there’s a high variation in poverty levels. And comparing local poverty levels with the proportion of families affected by the two child cap, it found a strong correlation between the two. It’s a key driver.
The cap makes a big difference
The two child limit is a key driver of this according to the Loughborough study. Introduced in 2017 by Tory Chancellor George Osborne (whose fifth child was born in February 2024), the two child limit affects families with a third or subsequent child born after 6th April 2017. It limits Universal Credit and Tax Credit payments to the first two children, so families can lose over £3,000 a year for each additional child – regardless of whether the family is in paid employment – and two thirds of families affected by the two child cap are already doing some paid work. Child Benefit payments are not affected, but Child Benefit is only £16.95 per week for second or subsequent children and has lost 20% of its value since 2010.
Research by the London School of Economics in 2023 also showed that the two child limit is highly unusual in international terms: in Europe only three countries place such a limit on support, and in each of these the limit is three or four children, not two.
A small price for our longterm future
Ending the two child limit would lift 300,000 children out of poverty and mean 800,000 children are less deep in poverty, at an estimated cost of £1.8bn. It is the most cost-effective way of reducing child poverty.
The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) is also calling for three further measures to lift one million children out of poverty:
• Scrap the benefit cap which limits the support a family can receive if they are not working or working only a small amount. This would reduce the depth of poverty experienced by 300,000 children and cost only £300m.
• Make free school meals available to all pupils. The CPAG analysis found that 900,000 children in poverty in England do not qualify for free school meals and estimates that rolling out universal free school meals would cost £2bn.
• Increase Child Benefit by £20 a week for all children. This would reduce child poverty and support the income security of low and middle income families who do not qualify for means tested benefits but still struggle financially. This would pull 600,000 children out of poverty and cost £12bn.
These are not large amounts for protecting the very future of our society.
- Elaine Hoctor is a member of Leyton and Wanstead CLP and is a retired welfare rights advisor.
- This article was originally published in CLPD’s Campaign Briefing Newsletter. Read it in full here.
- You can also read Labour Outlook’s 2024 Autumn Conference bulletin here.
