New DWP statistics: 1 in 9 children now hit by two-child limit
- Survey of 560 affected families reveals acute hardship
- Charities and Church of England call on new government to commit to abolishing the policy this year – ‘...children can’t wait for government to align every star...’
As official figures out today show 1 in 9 children (1.6 million) are affected by the two-child limit, a new survey of 560 families hit by the policy reveals the deep suffering and deprivation it’s causing.
Parents responding to the survey, by Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), report direct harms to their children and to family life. Parents report having to keep children off school because of lack of money for basics like school shoes. Some mothers have been forced to cut short maternity leave to return to work, when babies are as young as four months. Children have been forced to give up GCSE subjects like PE because of associated costs. And parents say their youngest children are ‘clingy’ and less confident than older siblings because the two-child limit makes social activities like playgroups unaffordable.
One working mother reports: “My number one reason for doing anything is my children, yet when I watch them queuing in a foodbank with me because I physically can’t provide for them, I feel horrific, it makes you feel like an absolute failure.”
Almost half (45%) of respondents said they struggle to pay their rent or mortgage because of the policy. A similar proportion (46%) struggle to manage childcare costs.
The vast majority (93%) said the policy has affected their ability to pay for food. Eighty two per cent said it meant they struggle to cover gas or electricity bills.
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) Church of England, End Child Poverty and the Benefit Changes and Larger Families study call on the new Prime Minister to send a clear signal in next week’s King’s Speech that the two-child limit will be abolished this year. Their report, based on the survey findings, is here
Chief Executive of Child Poverty Action Group Alison Garnham said:
“Children are losing their life chances to the two-child limit now – they can’t wait for the new government to align every star before the policy is scrapped. The PM came to office pledging a bold, ambitious child poverty-reduction plan and there’s no way to deliver on that promise without scrapping the two-child limit, and fast. This is not the time for procrastination or prevarication - the futures of 1.6 million children are on the line.”
The Rt Revd Martyn Snow, Lord Bishop of Leicester said:
“The testimonies in this report remind us that the two-child limit continues to affect the wellbeing and life chances of too many children and families in this country. Abolishing this unfair policy is essential if we are to turn the tide on poverty and ensure that every child is supported to flourish in all areas of life.”
Parents responding to the survey in the year to April 2024 said:
‘[The two-child limit has] severely inhibited the children's ability to experience a full life as [we’re] economically restricted. Shoes with holes, clothes too small. Hungry at times.’
(Couple with four children, working household (at least one parent in part-time work)
‘One of my children was on a pathway to play under 14’s England netball team but had to stop, I just couldn’t pay monthly fees and take them to training and games.’ This parent’s 15-year-old chose PE for one of his GCSEs but had to change the subject due to extra costs involved as these were unaffordable.
(Single parent of 4 children in full-time work).
‘I've had to find work and leave my baby at 4 months old. Also, there's no chance of affording a bigger rental so one child sleeps in living room and one in with me...’
(Single parent with 4 children, in part-time work.)
‘My 12 year old has been off school for over one and half weeks as he doesn’t have the shoes he needs – he ripped his school shoes and went in in a pair of black trainers, but the school refused to keep him in as the trainers didn’t meet the standard. The school said that if he stays in, he’ll be in isolation all day. So, I’m keeping him at home for now. I’m not able to buy a new pair before my next UC [universal credit] payment at the end of the month. My son is embarrassed for not being able to go to school and wasn’t even able to tell his friends why he was off school, he just said we’ve issues at the moment… I’m worried about the knock-on effect on his wellbeing.’
(Single parent with 3 children, in full-time work.)
‘My children ...cannot attend school some days as we can’t afford the trips out for them or the dress down days or the contributions for photos or Christmas cards or Pudsey day. . ..They can only have two haircuts each year […]. It’s the basics of being a person with human rights.’
(Couple with four children, working household (at least one parent in part-time work)
My third child – now 6 months old - is more clingy than her siblings as she doesn’t go to groups and places, I took her to a baby playgroup once.... With my older kids we’re up and down in baby classes, playdates with other kids and now I don’t go as I have no money.
(Single parent with 3 children, in full-time work, currently on maternity leave.)
‘We even struggle to take them [the children] on a beach day at the seaside as we just don’t have any surplus money. If my 14-year-old wants a fiver to go to a fish and chips shop with his mates, we haven’t got the money for him to do it.’
Couple with four children, both parents in work (one part time and one full time)
‘I’ve worked all my life and mostly full-time and now when I need help, I only get support for my two kids and not four. Does it mean that my younger two children don’t matter? And the more I work on UC, the less UC I get, you just can’t win.’
(Single parent with 4 children, in part-time work).
‘My partner works full-time and I am training to be a nurse. I am careful with money, I buy our clothes second hand, sell our old to make the money back and shop carefully ...My worry over feeding my family is the first thing I think about every morning, and I can feel this effecting my mental health and my ability to perform well at university and work which I am doing to better my family. My days are starting to feel more and more hopeless, it’s a strain on my relationship with my partner ....’
(Couple with four children, both parents in work (one full time and one part time)
‘I have 4 children […] to support with one income. I work full-time as a paramedic on an ok salary but cannot afford to pay my mortgage as well as feed my children. I use a food bank […] Regardless of me working, it’s impossible to cover all the needs of 4 children from only one salary, even though I’m on an ok wage…with childcare fees and mortgage, it’s just impossible… I couldn’t afford to stay on maternity leave, so I went back to work when my baby was 6 months […] I had to pay £580 upfront for the first month of nursery and I’ve gone into debt because of it, I ended up borrowing from family.’
(Single parent with 4 children, in full-time work.)
‘I’m working full-time to provide for my children and set an example, although it’s extremely difficult and I’m in debt with lots of my bills. I occasionally have to borrow money for food, and I’ve ran out of petrol while driving home from work because I can’t make it to pay day...’
(Single parent with 3 children, in full-time work.)
‘As a family we have started to rely on food banks, winter months are horrendous as we can't afford a big gas bill so we have to bundle the children with extra blankets, we have just moved to a property with no carpet and there is no possible way of affording any carpet....The adults of the house will have to skip meals so the children have full stomachs. My partner is hardly at home because he works so hard to keep us afloat so he is missing so much of his children’s upbringing.’
(Couple with three children, working household (at least one parent in full-time work)
‘Can't afford childcare for youngest. Went into debt paying for childcare for other children.’
(Couple with three children, working household (at least one parent in full-time work)
‘I used to work but was made redundant. I’ve never thought I’d be in this situation. We are living by one month payment to the next. Our rent has increased by £150 which is a struggle, we’re in a 2-bed property that is too small for the family of 5, so my 4 children share a room....’
(Single parent with 4 children, not in work.)
Notes to editors:
Today’s Briefing from CPAG, Church of England, End Child Poverty and the Benefit Changes and Larger Families study is https://cpag.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-07/Things_will_only_get_worse.pdf
Today’s DWP statistics on the number of families affected by the two-child limit are HERE
The one in 9 figure includes all children in a household affected by the policy (rather than only the child or subsequent children who are ineligible for child allowances in universal credit or tax credits).
The two-child limit denies child allowances in universal credit (UC) and tax credits worth up to £3,455 per year to third or subsequent children born after April 2017. Abolishing the two-child limit is the most cost-effective way to reduce child poverty which is at a record level. It would lift 300,000 children out of poverty and mean 700,000 children are in less deep poverty, making a significant difference to the lives of over a million children at a cost of £1.7 billion.
59% of families affected by the policy have at least one parent working.
CPAG’s rolling online survey is facilitated by the Entitledto benefits calculator. Users of the calculator who are likely to be subject to the two-child limit are invited to participate in the survey to provide feedback on the impact of the policy. 560 parents affected by the policy responded to the online survey in the year to April 2024. Between May and June 2024, CPAG also conducted twenty-one in-depth telephone interviews with survey respondents to gather further insight into the impact of the policy on their children and families in the last year. Where families were interviewed, we collected data on employment status for all parents in that household. For survey respondents, we know employment type (part time or full time) for each household but, for couple families, we don’t know if it applies to both parents or one parent only. In these cases, we have indicated this eg, ‘at least one parent in full-time work.’
CPAG media contact: Jane Ahrends 07816 909302