The Government says this will transform lives across the UK. The two child benefit cap has officially ended. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it shows his Government is on the side of the British people. The policy started in 2017 and limited support through universal credit & child tax credit to the first two children in most households. That restriction has now been lifted and the first payments are going to families who were previously excluded. Ministers say the change could lift around 450000 children out of poverty. Many households are already beginning to feel the impact.
Starmer said his Government will always be on the side of the British people in bearing down on the cost of living regardless of global uncertainty. He said he is proud that today nearly half a million children are being lifted out of poverty while support for pensioners is being boosted & workers’ rights are being upgraded.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed the move earlier this year following months of pressure to scrap the cap. As the first payments reach bank accounts the Prime Minister also pointed to wider pressures facing households including global instability. He said families across the country are concerned about the conflict in Iran and what it means for the cost of living. The Government is working closely with international partners to push for a de-escalation in the Middle East and the re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz. This is the most effective way to ease the pressure on the cost of living according to Starmer. He added that the response to the current global situation will define the country for a generation. The Government is taking the right long-term decisions now to ensure the nation emerges from this as stronger and more secure.
Not everyone is convinced the changes go far enough. Amnesty International said more sweeping reforms are needed to tackle poverty and many families will still struggle. Jen Clark from the organisation said the lifting of the two-child limit is welcome but fails to go far enough to help the vast majority of children living in poverty in the UK. The Government urgently needs to make changes to the social security system to make it fairer given the growing cost-of-living crisis. For decades these policies have kept those most in need in poverty and forced parents to choose between putting food on the table and turning the heating on.
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch criticised the move and argued it shifts the balance too far. She said working people struggle with rising fuel costs and food prices while Keir Starmer is giving another handout to those on benefits. The Conservatives believe in fairness and that those on welfare should have to make the same choices about their family as those who are not on welfare.
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A range of new measures has also come into force including improved workers’ rights and updates to sick pay and a rise in the state pension.
