The Chancellor described austerity as destructive but government is still rolling it out in the two-child limit which pulls 109 children into poverty every day. Struggling families won’t feel any renewal until the two-child limit – the biggest driver of rising child poverty – is scrapped and that must happen in the Autumn budget. National renewal doesn’t start with record child poverty.
Eleven major charities have today written to the Chancellor urging her to make a commitment in next week’s spending review to abolish the two-child limit and benefit cap in the Autumn Budget. The charities, including Child Poverty Action Group, Citizens Advice, Save the Children UK, Trussell and The Children’s Society, work with children and low-income families. Their letter warns that the two-child limit has already pulled 37,000 children into poverty since the government took office.
In response to news that the UK government's child poverty strategy is delayed until autumn, Alison Garnham, the chief executive of Child Poverty Action Group, said:
“There are 4.5 million children already in poverty and another 109 are pulled into poverty every day by the two-child limit alone. If this government is serious in its commitment to the nation’s children, it can’t keep waiting for the stars to align before taking action. It must urgently invest in children and their families, starting with scrapping the two-child limit.”
This briefing, from CPAG and the NEU, lays out from an education perspective what is needed to reduce child poverty, to alleviate the negative impacts of poverty on children’s education, and to empower schools to ensure all children can thrive in education.
The elephant in the room today was the two-child limit which is pushing child poverty to a new high on this government’s watch and leaving children without the life chances the Secretary of State wants for them.
Research published today shows there is overwhelming public support for government to take action on child poverty. In polling undertaken by Public First, 89% of those asked agreed that no child in the UK should live in poverty and 74% agreed that national government has a role to play in reducing child poverty.
We all want an education system where all young people can thrive and make the most of their time at school. We hope that they attain good exam grades, explore their passions and interests through trips and clubs, and that they develop lifelong friendships through key milestones such as going to their school prom or leavers event. CPAG’s research out this week has shown that for secondary school pupils from lower-income families, this isn’t always the case
Leading charities and organisations representing children and low-income families have written to the Prime Minister urging him to direct his personal leadership and the full weight of government into reducing child poverty. They warn that if the two-child limit is not scrapped in government’s forthcoming child poverty strategy, child poverty will be significantly higher at the end of this parliament than when the government took office – the first time a Labour government would have left such a legacy - and the number of children in poverty at its highest since records began.
