‘Lift children out of poverty’: Leeds MP renews push to end two-child benefit cap
A Leeds MP has called on the Government to scrap the two-child benefit cap ahead of the budget next month.
Work and pensions minister Andrew Western said Labour was determined to bring down the number of children living in poverty, and indicated lifting the cap was among a number of options being considered.
He faced calls to put pressure on Chancellor and Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves to announce the restriction would be removed at the budget on November 26.
Richard Burgon (Leeds East), who had the Labour whip withdrawn from him last year when he voted in favour of an SNP amendment that would have scrapped the cap, said it would tackle the cost of living crisis facing parents.
Speaking at Work and Pensions questions, Mr Burgon said: “The cost of living crisis remains the main issue that people face, despite what the far right try to claim.
“One way to really help struggling families would be to lift the two-child benefit cap.
“That would lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty across the country, including many in my constituency.
“So isn’t scrapping the two-child benefit cap what should be announced in the forthcoming budget?”
Replying to Mr Burgon, Mr Western said: “All available levers are under consideration as part of our child poverty taskforce, which is reporting later this year.
“We will do what it takes to bear down on child poverty. There are many levers that we can look at to do that, we have pulled some already, and we will continue that work.”
The policy has been a hot topic in the Labour Party since it entered Government.
Within weeks of winning the election, seven Labour MPs had the whip withdrawn for backing an SNP amendment that would abolish the cap.
The Child Poverty Action Group thinktank has said the cap means parents with three or more children lose out on £3,514 a year for each child.
It estimated that 350,000 children would be lifted out of poverty completely if it was dropped – and mean 700,000 are in “less deep” poverty.
At the party’s conference in September Ms Reeves indicated she was set to lift the limit.
Reform UK is among the parties who have called for the cap to be lifted as it said it wanted to encourage people to have more children.