Submission to the 2024 Budget consultation

There are over four million children now living in poverty in the UK. It is not tenable for the government to continue to ignore these kids – if it does, the results will be catastrophic. Time and time again, evidence shows that investing financial support in children and their families is the way to reduce child poverty. We are calling on the government to:

• Invest in children by increasing social security benefits. Not only does it improve the standard of living for the 4.2 million children living in poverty in the UK but it also leads to healthier, more educated children, meaning higher economic growth and reduced costs for the government.
• Over time, benefit freezes, sub-inflationary upratings, and other harmful policies have increased the gap between entitlement and need. Scrapping the two-child limit and removing the benefit cap would make the most difference to children living in poverty.
• Raise child benefit by £20 a week – this would substantially reduce child poverty and help low- and middle-income families who have been struggling with the cost of living.
• Roll out universal free school meals across England – supporting pupils’ learning and attainment, and reducing the pressure on household budgets.
• The government must commit to further funding for the household support fund, which is due to run out of funding in March, alongside a long-term strategy for local crisis support.
• Reduce the monthly cap on deductions to 15 per cent of the standard allowance and introduce a DWP deduction cap of 5 per cent (in-line with the private sector).