Ending the two-child benefit cap is a “vital step in the right direction” towards ending child poverty in the North East, campaigners say, writes Local Democracy Reporter, Daniel Holland.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed in her Budget on Wednesday that the controversial limit will be lifted in full from April 2026.
It is expected that ditching the cap will cost around £3 billion and lift 450,000 children out of poverty by the end of this Parliament.
The policy, which was introduced in 2017, means that most families receiving Universal Credit can only claim support for their first two children.
Beth Farhat, chair of the North East Child Poverty Commission, said: “Scrapping the cruel two-child limit, in full and from next April, truly is a vital step in the right direction in bringing down the numbers of children held back by poverty both here in the North East and across the country.
“‘This will deliver a profound boost to the living standards and opportunities of babies, children and young people growing up across our region, lifting tens of thousands out of poverty and reducing the level of hardship experienced by tens of thousands more.”
Around 70,000 children in low income families across the North East are thought to be affected by the benefit cap, which campaigners have long branded one of the biggest drivers of poverty.
In September, a coalition of North East businesses, charities, churches, youth organisations and others made a joint call for the limit to be abolished.
The leaders of Health Equity North, including Newcastle University professor Clare Bambra, welcomed what they called a “historic policy change that will transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of children and families across the North of England and beyond”.
In a joint statement, they added: “Since 2017, the cap has effectively punished children based on factors outside their control, and plunged more families into poverty. Because poverty has no return on investment, the move has always been counter-productive in terms of cost savings – the original motivation for the enforced limit. We believe that its removal – and the immediate alleviation of half a million children from poverty – will prove to be a step towards the most vulnerable families being able to prosper. However, levels of child poverty will remain unacceptably high, and this move must be coupled with a cross-sector strategy to address key drivers of child poverty and reduce health inequalities.”
The Government is yet to publish the full details of its strategy to reduce child poverty, which had been due in the spring of this year but has been delayed.
North East mayor Kim McGuinness today called the two-child cap decision a “major victory in our fight to end child poverty”.
South Shields MP Emma Lewell, chair of the Child of the North All-Party Parliamentary Group, added: “It means that families will start to see tangible improvements in their financial stability, and their children will have better prospects in every aspect of their lives – from education and nutrition to mental health and future life chances. Perhaps most importantly, it means that from tomorrow up to 400,000 children will be lifted out of poverty.
By lifting the cap, we’ve corrected a long-standing injustice and taken a vital step toward building a healthier, more prosperous generation of young people that will no longer have a legacy that burdens them across the life course. I hope to see the changes are implemented swiftly so that families affected by this decision feel the benefits without unnecessary delay.”
Daniel Holland
Reporter for the Local Democracy Reporter Service.
South West Durham News covering news across County Durham.
