The government’s own social mobility advisers are urging Boris Johnson to scrap the two-child benefit limit that has “penalised” large households and to increase universal credit payments by at least £10 a week per child.
In a major report, the Social Mobility Commission (SMC) demands that disadvantaged children are put “at centre stage” of the government’s Covid-19 recovery programme, with the £14bn package used to shake up welfare benefits.
It comes amid growing controversy over the government’s decision to scrap the £20-per-week uplift in universal credit payments – an emergency measure introduced at the onset of the pandemic – in the autumn.
Instead, the commissioners say that ministers must “act now to rescue the next generation from decades of hardship”, arguing in the report: “Now is not the time to cut public spending.”
Warning that one in three children (4.3 million) now live in poverty – an increase of 700,000 since March 2012 – the report says that the two-child benefit limit, which was announced as part of the coalition government’s austerity drive in 2015, had “penalised” children for being born into large families.
Last week, figures from the Department for Work and Pensions showed that more than 1.1 million children are in families affected by the policy that has been condemned by anti-poverty campaigners and opposition MPs.
They also urge the government to make welfare more “generous” by raising each child payment covered by universal credit and child benefits by at least £10 per week.
The SMC, an independent statutory body that was recently moved into the Cabinet Office, estimates that the £14bn package will lift 1.5 million children out of poverty and help to alleviate extreme poverty for millions more.
Among other recommendations, the commissioners called for three million social homes to be built over the next 20 years and the expansion of the eligibility entitlement for 30 hours free childcare to all families.
Across the UK there are already signs that attainment gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged children are getting wider
The State of the Nation report warns that the Covid-19 pandemic has held back social mobility prospects for millions. It argues that the poorest families, hit hardest during the past 18 months, “should be helped first”.
“Our report reveals that each of the nations has struggled with the damaging impact of the pandemic from early years to training and employment, and that social mobility, already stagnant, could move backwards,” it states.
“Across the UK there are already signs that attainment gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged children are getting wider.
“Every critical measure of low social mobility – child poverty, income inequality, access to stable housing, unemployment for young people and gaps in school attainment – was poor in 2019. The impact of Covid-19 is threatening to make each of these factors worse.”
Interim co-chair of the commission, Sandra Wallace, said: “Now is the time to take action and we must not shy away from difficult decisions.
“Now is the moment to level up opportunities for children across the country. Ending child poverty and investing significantly in education are two of the most impactful and influential things the UK government can do to improve social mobility.”
A government spokesperson said, “We know that children in households where every adult is working are much less likely to be in poverty.
“That’s why our multibillion-pound plan for jobs is helping people across the country improve their skills and move forward in their working lives. We also have a comprehensive childcare offer for working parents, while universal credit has supported millions throughout the pandemic.
“This government is focused on levelling up opportunity so that no young person is left behind. That’s why we are providing the biggest uplift to school funding in a decade, investing in early years education and targeting our ambitious recovery funding to support disadvantaged pupils with their attainment.”
