Children’s Commissioner responds to UK Government decision not to abolish two-child benefit cap

Date: 20th August 2024
Category: General measures of implementation, General principles, Family Environment and Alternative Care

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The new UK Government  has announced a new child poverty taskforce as part of its strategy to tackle the rise in child poverty rates. The new Prime Minister also said he would “consider” scrapping the two-child benefit limit.

Children and Young People’s Commissioner Nicola Killean has expressed deep disappointment with the UK Government's decision to retain the two-child benefit limit, which restricts benefits for third and subsequent children born after April 2017. Killean called the policy a clear violation of children’s rights, arguing that it contributes significantly to child poverty in Scotland, where one in four children lives in poverty:

“Poverty remains the most significant human rights issue facing children in Scotland today. Around one in four children are living in poverty. Since becoming Commissioner last year, children have consistently told me how concerned they are about poverty and how worried they feel for family members and friends. Poverty impacts on all aspects of a child’s life including their rights to physical and mental health, to education, to access opportunities to socialise and play.

The two-child benefit cap is a clear violation of children’s human rights as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). It breaches children’s right to an adequate standard of living, contributes to a rising gap in poverty levels between families with three or more children and smaller households and disproportionately impacts on social groups where larger families are more common, such as some minority faith and ethnic groups.

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