Former prime minister Gordon Brown has called for the “total abolition” of the two-child benefit cap, putting pressure on ministers to do more to tackle the “scar” of child poverty in Britain.
Speaking at a conference to mark the 60th anniversary of the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), the former Labour premier and chancellor shot down proposals to water down the controversial policy, instead calling for its complete removal.
Pressure has increased on ministers to abolish the measure in the approach to the upcoming Budget and publication of the government’s delayed child poverty strategy.
Campaigners at CPAG say the policy pulls 109 children in to poverty a day, and that without action, the number of children in poverty in the UK will rise from 4.5 million will rise to 4.7 million by the end of this parliament.
The cap, introduced under Conservative welfare reforms, blocks parents from claiming the child element of universal credit worth £292.81 a month for a third or subsequent child born after April 2017.
It is understood that ministers are now considering a partial removal of the cap, which would see it tweaked rather than fully removed. This could be done by increasing the limit to three or four children, or by introducing a taper rate that would see parents would receive higher entitlement for their first child and less for subsequent children.
Speaking in London, Mr Brown said: “Total abolition is far preferable to any tapering or any other kind of reform that would not abolish the two-child rule in its entirety.
“But there’s another bigger reason why we should abolish the two-child rule. We should not have the stain on the legislative book of the House of Commons and the House of Lords that this prejudice was introduced into legislation almost 10 years ago.”
He said what then-Tory chancellor George Osborne had “wanted you to believe was that taxpayers were paying money when they couldn’t afford to have children, for other people to have children who were poor parents on benefits who were actually having children to get the benefits”.
He said this was a “prejudice he [Mr Osborne] tried to inculcate into the mind of the country”, but that it was in fact a “fictional account of Britain”.
Speaking after the former prime minister, homelessness minister Alison McGovern credited his work on tackling child poverty, but said she would not “pre-empt” any decisions that may be announced in the child poverty strategy.
Labour committed to reducing child poverty in its election manifesto, but has not yet set a target for this reduction. Mr Brown also urged ministers to introduced this in the upcoming strategy.
He repeated his call to introduce a higher levy on gambling profits to pay for the measure, and introducing a higher levy on banks if necessary, pointing to the UK’s Bank Corporation Tax Surcharge being reduced from 8 to 3 per cent in 2023.
A previously published report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), backed by Mr Brown, suggested reforms to gambling levies could generate the £3.2 billion needed to scrap both the two-child limit and benefit cap.
The Resolution Foundation think tank previously estimated that easing the two-child limit so families received support for the first three children they have would cost £2.4 billion in 2029/30 and would lift 280,000 children out of poverty.
CPAG chief executive, Alison Garnham, said: “Now more than ever with child poverty at a record high, we need decisive action from Government and the first step must be full abolition of the two-child limit.
“Half-measures and compromises will not shift the dial. The policy must be removed in its entirety or a generation of children will grow up cut off from opportunity.”
Ahead of Mr Brown’s speech, a Government spokesperson said its strategy will set out how to “tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty”.
They added: “We are investing £500 million in children’s development through the rollout of Best Start Family Hubs, extending free school meals and ensuring the poorest don’t go hungry in the holidays through a new £1 billion crisis support package.”
