Plaid Cymru renews calls for scrapping of ‘regressive’ two-child benefit cap

Plaid Cymru has renewed calls for the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap after the latest statistics showed more than one and a half million children across the UK are affected.

The two-child limit affects families entitled to benefits who have had a third or subsequent child after 6 April 2017.

These parents lose out one £3,235 per year per child compared with families who have a third or subsequent child born before that date.

Figures published on Thursday by the Department for Work and Pensions showed there were 1.6 million children living in households affected by the policy as of April this year, up from 1.5 million to April 2023.

Of these, 52% of children were in households with three children, 29% in households with four children, and 19% in households with five or more children.

An independent think tank has said that the majority of children in large families will fall below the poverty line by the end of this Parliament five years from now, unless the policy is abolished.

Last month, before becoming Prime Minister, Sir Keir said he would scrap the two-child limit “in an ideal world” but added that “we haven’t got the resources to do it at the moment”.

Change

Plaid Cymru’s Work and Pensions spokesperson, Ann Davies MP, has urged the Prime Minister to deliver on his promise of ‘change’ by ending the two-child benefit cap, which has impacted 65,000 children in Wales.

Ms Davies said that the King’s Speech next week would be the Prime Minister’s “opportunity to show that change under Labour means more than just words”.

The new MP for Caerfyrddin, said: “Keir Starmer won the General Election on a simple message of change. The most powerful change he could enact to lift millions of children out of poverty across the UK would be to end the cruel two-child benefit cap.

“As the joint owner of a children’s nursery, I have seen the devastating impact of child poverty on families in Carmarthenshire. Children should not be punished simply for having brothers and sisters – and it is deeply disappointing that Labour is deciding to continue with this regressive Tory policy.

“Plaid Cymru aims to build a Wales where every child thrives, but with 65,000 children in Wales feeling the crushing weight of this regressive measure, it’s clear we have a long road ahead. Next week’s King’s Speech is the Prime Minister’s opportunity to show that change under Labour means more than just words. Plaid Cymru urge the Labour UK Government to scrap the two-child limit and invest in our children’s futures.”

Spending controls

Asked about the renewed calls to do away with the policy, Environment Secretary Steve Reed said “of course” the party understands those demands, but maintained the Government must keep “strict spending controls” to stabilise the economy.

He told reporters: “Of course we understand the pressure for that, of course we understand the difficulties families face because of the wider cost of living crisis.

“It is absolutely essential that this Labour Government maintains strict spending controls because we have to stabilise the economy after 14 years of Conservative chaos.

“It is that chaos and the way they crashed the economy that has left families hurting so much. As we grow the economy, we will be able to spend the additional income on other things that we want to achieve for this country.”

The Church of England has backed the call to end the policy, which was introduced in 2017 and restricts child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, previously described it as “cruel” and one which is “neither moral nor necessary”.

New Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall called the child poverty situation “a stain on our society” and pledged to hold “critical meetings” with charities and experts about its strategy to tackle it.