New child poverty taskforce already facing calls to scrap two-child benefit cap

Ministers charged with tackling child poverty have already faced calls to scrap the two-child benefit limit before their new taskforce has even met for the first time.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall met child poverty charities on Wednesday morning to hear their views ahead of the announcement of the new taskforce that will develop Labour’s promised child poverty strategy.

But on the same day, many of those charities reiterated calls to abolish the two-child benefit cap that affects some 1.6 million children, 65,000 of them in Wales.

They included Save the Children, which described the limit as “cruel”, and members of the Children’s Charities Coalition, who called the cap “devastating”.

Pressures

Labour has faced consistent pressure to scrap the limit since before the election, from charities and its own backbenchers, with some reported to be considering backing an amendment to the King’s Speech calling for the policy to be abolished.

Calls to abolish the two-child limit come against the background of rising child poverty, with more than four million children now living in low-income households.

But the party leadership has so far resisted such calls, claiming the fiscal situation means the cap cannot be abolished unless economic growth is secured first.

Instead, the Government announced a new taskforce shortly after the King’s Speech on Wednesday to look at “all the available levers we have across government” to deliver the “ambitious” child poverty strategy promised in Labour’s manifesto.

Led by Ms Kendall and Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, the new taskforce is expected to meet for the first time in the coming weeks.

Levers

The official announcement said the group would consider “levers related to household income as well as employment, housing, children’s health, childcare and education”, but made no mention of the cap.

Sir Keir Starmer said ministers would “leave no stone unturned” in their efforts to give every child the best start in life.

He said: “For too long children have been left behind, and no decisive action has been taken to address the root causes of poverty.

“This is completely unacceptable, no child should be left hungry, cold or have their future held back.”

Ms Kendall said tackling child poverty was “vital and urgent work” and promised to “turn the tide on rising poverty levels”.

Dan Paskins, of Save the Children UK, welcomed the announcement of the taskforce as a “signal of intent”, but added that the strategy would not be “credible” without abolishing the two-child cap.

He said: “With 1.6 million children impacted by this cruel and unfair policy, the two-child limit punishes children just for having siblings.

“Scrapping it could immediately lift half a million children out of poverty and would be the first major step to deliver on the aims of the child poverty taskforce.”

Alison Garnham, chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, said the taskforce was “a welcome first step” but added scrapping the cap “has to happen in the Government’s first budget”.

She said: “The two-child limit is driving up child poverty more than any other policy, children need it to be removed as a priority.”

Paul Carberry, chief executive of Action for Children, said he had been “pleased” to meet Ms Kendall and discuss “how to urgently help lift children out of poverty”.

He added: “A strategy for tackling child poverty must start with abolishing the cruel and unnecessary two-child limit. This would immediately lift around 300,000 children out of poverty.”

Several opposition parties have also called for the cap to be removed, with some expected to join Labour rebels in trying to amend the King’s Speech to include the proposal.

Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesperson Wendy Chamberlain said it was “right that the Government is looking at how best to tackle the scourge of child poverty” and urged ministers to listen to charities.

She said: “Scrapping the two-child cap would be the quickest and most cost-effective way to lift children out of poverty and bring long-term benefits to our society and economy.”