MORE than 100 children have been pulled into poverty by the two-child cap every day since Labour took office, new research has found.
The report from the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) – published on Monday – found that 10,000 children have been pulled into poverty across the UK by the two-child cap since July 5, equivalent to 109 children each day.
John Dickie, the director of CPAG in Scotland, said the UK Government needs to “step up to the plate” and deliver on its child poverty commitments by abolishing the two-child cap in the Autumn Budget.
He continued: “Scrapping the two-child limit is the most cost-effective way to stop more children being pulled into poverty on [Labour’s] watch.
“We welcome its child poverty taskforce, but the damage grows every day – the two-child limit must be abolished in the upcoming Budget.”
Previous research by CPAG found that scrapping the two-child limit today would instantly pull 300,000 children out of poverty – 15,000 of them in Scotland alone – as well as reducing the depth of poverty for 700,000 more.
Statistics from the Department of Work and Pensions show that one in nine (1.6 million) children in the UK are affected by the two-child cap.
More than half (59%) of families affected by the policy have at least one working parent.
Meanwhile, 62% of affected families have three children, 25% have four and 12% have five or more.
The report comes as new analysis published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) last week found that removing the two-child cap is “the single most cost-effective policy for reducing the number of children living below the poverty line”.
A DWP spokesperson said: “No child should be in poverty – that’s why our new cross-government taskforce is developing an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty and give children the best start in life.
“Alongside this, we have extended the Household Support Fund to support the most vulnerable with essentials this winter and have committed to reviewing Universal Credit while we deliver on our plan to tackle inequality and make work pay.”
