An SNP MP has accused the UK Government of "failing single-parent families". East Dunbartonshire MP Amy Callaghan said during a Westminster Hall debate on Tuesday afternoon that the Tories were not doing enough for single-parent families and were also hindering them at the same time.
She called on the UK Government to scrap the two-child policy and the benefit cap for single-parent families in the Budget. The two-child policy means that you cannot get Child Tax Credit or Universal Credit for more than two children born after 2017.
Benefits in Scotland are capped at £384.62 a week or £1,666.67 a month for couples or single parents whose children live with them. They are capped at £257.69 a month or £1,116.67 a month for single people.
Callaghan said: "Removing both the two-child limit and the benefit cap are estimated to lift 300,000 children out of poverty. I call on the Government to scrap each of these policies to help single-parent families."
Callaghan also said that the Child Maintenance Service, which establishes how children's living costs are met when one of the parents doesn't live with the child, was "deeply flawed" and was hindering single-parent families.
She said: "[The service] puts vulnerable parents, mainly women, at risk of further manipulation from abusive ex-partners. Not being assigned a designated caseworker can cause the parent receiving the maintenance to relive trauma, with each conversation rehashing their situation and the breakdown of their previous relationship."
Callaghan also reiterated the SNP's calls for more Government support with energy bills. She added: "This Government is failing single-parent families. There's far more that they could do to step up to the plate and support them.
"We need far more action, far bolder action from this UK Government to mirror the radical bold action that the Scottish Government has taken to tackle both child and family poverty levels."
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