Press release

The High Court has today ruled that one of the Government’s key welfare reform policies, the two-child rule for tax credits and universal credit (1), is in part unlawful.

Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) is pursuing judicial review proceedings challenging the DWP’s decision to limit backdated payments for disabled people who were underpaid when they were moved from incapacity benefit (IB) to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) to an October 2014 date.

Today, 60 Bishops from the Church of England and senior representatives from other Christian, Jewish and Muslim organisations have come together to urge the Government to rethink its two-child limit policy, one year on from its introduction.

Growing child poverty is affecting children’s learning, say NEU education professionals, and schools and education staff are increasingly providing the services and essentials of daily life to stop families falling through the cracks.

30% of children in poverty for second year running after housing costs (AHC) – increase from 4 million to 4.1 million; 67% of poor children in working families (AHC); risk of poverty for self-employed couples with children up from 30% to 33% (AHC); risk of poverty for children in lone parent families up from 47% to 49% (AHC).

The Court of Appeal today overturned a High Court ruling that the lower benefit cap unlawfully discriminates against lone parents with children aged under two but left the door open for a wider challenge to the lawfulness of the cap as it applies to all lone parents.

MEDIA RELEASE IPPR's call for a "down payment" toward child poverty targets "could not be more timely", say campaigners "Ministers must now choose how, not if, to use top up powers to boost family incomes"

In response to Alan Milburn’s resignation as Social Mobility Commissioner, Imran Hussain, Director of Policy at Child Poverty Action Group, said: "It's a genuine loss that Alan Milburn is resigning and totally dispiriting that it seems he is doing so because he has lost confidence in the government's willingness and ability to prioritise making society fairer."

“We were the first to sound the alarm over the waiting days for universal credit, so we’re pleased the Chancellor has acted to remove them and put in place new arrangements for receiving advances as part of an emergency rescue package, but this should have been the budget that ushered in much needed structural reform of Universal Credit"

The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland today (8/11/17) welcomed a unanimous Scottish Parliament vote putting ambitious targets to eradicate child poverty in law.