Lifting two-child cap could reduce child poverty significantly

Removing the two-child benefit cap could help 600,000 children escape poverty in the next five years, according to a new analysis by Action for Children. The charity calls this change the most cost-effective solution for the government to tackle child poverty. The analysis suggests that current plans to boost parents' incomes through new jobs will not significantly reduce child poverty. It advocates for scrapping the two-child benefit limit, which currently provides no additional financial support for families with more than two children born after April 2017. Implementing this policy change would cost £3.9 billion per year but could impact far more children compared to the other proposed methods. Labour is preparing a strategy to address child poverty and aims to significantly reduce the numbers affected. The plan is being developed by Liz Kendall and Bridget Phillipson. For a goal of lifting at least a million children out of poverty within five years, the analysis indicates that the two-child cap needs to be removed and that child-related universal credit elements should exceed inflation. The benefits cap affects families like Jasmine's in Dorset, who is struggling to provide for her four children after separating from her partner. She reports difficulty in meeting basic expenses, especially with rising utility costs. Jasmine has to make tough decisions about essentials like clothing and warmth for her children, showing the deeper impact of the benefit cap on family life. The Department for Work and Pensions has been approached for a comment on these findings.