Copyright manchestereveningnews
A government minister representing the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has responded to calls to scrap the two-child benefit cap in next month's budget. Calls to remove the policy - which was introduced by Theresa May's Conservative government in April 2017 - are widespread, with charities, opposition parties like the Liberal Democrats , and some within Labour advocating for its abolition or reform. Proponents argue that the cap traps millions of children in poverty and is a failure of equal treatment. The Resolution Foundation projects that 4.8 million children will be in poverty by the end of the decade if the cap is not removed. While a complete removal is being pushed, the government is reportedly considering a "tapered" system or a higher limit as an alternative. Last month, former Commons leader Lucy Powell was among a number of MPs who publicly called for an end to the two-child cap. The Manchester Central MP said: "I want us to be clear that our objective is to lift children out of poverty and that will mean we need to lift the cap." Several Labour backbenchers, including Merseyside MPs Kim Johnson ( Liverpool Riverside) and Ian Byrne (Liverpool West Derby), signed a letter to the Prime Minister arguing that the policy "is one of the most significant drivers of child poverty in Britain today". The National Governance Association (NGA), NAHT (National Association of Head Teachers), the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), the National Education Union (NEU), NASUWT and Unison also penned a joint letter to Sir Keir Starmer . "This poverty-producing policy is harming the lives of hundreds of thousands of children and young people in our classrooms, and we are calling on Government to put an end to this this autumn," the letter read. The Chancellor has refused to publicly commit to the policy , insisting that it is a 'decision for the Budget ', which is due on November 26. "We will reduce child poverty, but we’ve also got to make sure the numbers add up, and people can trust me to ensure that that always happens," Rachel Reeves told BBC Radio 4. In Parliament on Friday, Minister of State for Social Security and Disability , Sir Stephen Timms, was asked if he will remove the cap next month. The Labour MP for East Ham replied: "The Government is committed to tackling child poverty. The Child Poverty Taskforce is developing an ambitious Child Poverty Strategy which we will publish in the autumn." He added: "Commitments made at the 2025 spending review, and since then, are the latest steps in our Plan for Change to put extra pounds in people’s pockets." These include
