Axe the two-child benefit cap
4 min read
The King’s Speech was a landmark moment for our new government.
I was very pleased to see several measures within it that should improve the lives of babies, children and young people, most notably through the introduction of a Children’s Wellbeing Bill.
It’s welcome that, despite no mention of poverty in the King’s Speech, the Labour government has since announced it will set up a ministerial taskforce to deliver the strategy promised in its manifesto.
This cannot come quickly enough. Urgent action is needed to tackle a crisis affecting children and families up and down the UK. Without urgent action to tackle poverty, the Government’s ambitions to promote children’s wellbeing will not be fully realised.
We are facing a child poverty emergency. More than 4.3 million children are growing up in poverty, including 48 per cent from black, Asian, and ethnic minority backgrounds. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation estimates that one million of those children are living in extreme poverty, while Barnardo’s research suggests one in 20 children don’t even have a bed.
A Child Poverty Bill must form an essential part of the Government’s new Child Poverty Strategy
The Government has prioritised children’s wellbeing throughout its upcoming legislation but have not gone far enough yet to address how child poverty affects every element of a child’s life. How can children be safe, healthy and happy without addressing the harmful and invasive impact that poverty is having on them?
In the last week, there have been repeated calls from MPs, charities, ex-prime ministers and the Archbishop of Canterbury to axe the two-child benefit cap and lift 300,000 children out of poverty. The Government has a prime opportunity to outline how they will fight to tackle and ultimately eradicate child poverty – now they must deliver.
As the Children’s Charities Coalition - Action for Children, Barnardo’s, National Children’s Bureau, NSPCC, The Children’s Society – we believe that the two-child benefit cap that is impacting 1.6 million children should be removed as a matter of urgency. Evidence shows that the policy only serves to increase poverty further. It must go.
But that is not all that needs to be done.
The change of Government could signal a change of course for some of the most vulnerable children in our society. We need the Government to be brave and bold in their first 100 days. A Child Poverty Bill must form an essential part of the Government’s new Child Poverty Strategy. We look forward to working with the taskforce to deliver changes that support families.
The Bill should have a series of evidence-based targets designed to eradicate child poverty over time, with clear milestones starting immediately and with others every two to three years, enshrined in legislation. Delivering on this would be transformative for the lives of countless children.
Across the services our organisations deliver, we hear first-hand about the heavy and harmful toll this is taking. Meanwhile, recent polling conducted by our Children’s Charities Coalition also suggests that the Government would be pushing at an open door, with 78% of the UK public saying they would support legislation to end child poverty.
The Prime Minister and his Government have promised to “give children their futures back”. At the same time the public are looking for a Government which understands the reality of what families are going through and champions children.
Investing in the next generation is the Government's number one priority but this cannot be achieved without addressing child poverty. Where are skills and growth going to come from if not from young people?
The Government may have missed an opportunity in the King’s Speech but with the new ministerial taskforce, there is still time to be ambitious in ensuring that all future generations are healthy, happy and safe by putting in place the building blocks that will eradicate child poverty.
Sir Peter Wanless, on behalf of the Children’s Charities Coalition
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