Two-child benefit cap has been devastating - Phillipson

""I'm leading the child poverty task force and I've been doing that work from government. "But I'm clear about what needs to happen. I'm clear about what the evidence tells us. And I'm clear about what we need to do." She added: "There's a real urgency about this because every year that passes, as children are born, as they move into that system, the numbers go up, child poverty rates increase. So we have to tackle it.""

""The education secretary argued that children should not be \"punished\" for events beyond their control, for example if a parent loses their job and has to rely on benefits. \"This was a Tory policy that's had a devastating impact on children and we'll sort it,\" she said. Sir Keir Starmer has previously spoken of his desire to ditch the two-child cap when economic conditions allow, without specifying exact circumstances.""

The two-child benefit cap prevents households on universal credit or child tax credit from receiving payments for a third or subsequent child born after April 2017. The cap has had a devastating impact on children and has contributed to rising child poverty as more children enter the affected cohort. There is urgency to lift the cap to prevent further increases in child poverty and numbers in the benefits system. The government is widely expected to change the limit in the November Budget, with options including a tapered system or limiting additional benefits to a third child. Debate highlights that children should not be punished for events beyond their parents' control, such as job loss and benefit reliance.

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