30,000 More Children Have Fallen Into Poverty Since Labour Were Elected, Charity Finds
Almost 30,000 children have fallen into poverty since Labour were elected in July, a charity has found.
According to Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), the two-child benefit cap has seen tens of thousands of kids fall below the poverty line in the last nine months.
Keir Starmer’s government has repeatedly refused to give in to pressure and drop the Tory policy, which prevents parents from being able to claim child tax credit or universal credit for any third or subsequent child.
In one of his first acts as prime minister, Starmer even suspended seven Labour MPs for voting against the government’s decision to keep the cap in place.
CPAG has now said the two-child limit “pushes 109 children into poverty every day.”
Labour took office on July 5, 2024, meaning, if CPAG’s calculations are correct, there are 29,757 more children now in poverty than there were before the general election.
The grim analysis comes after the government’s own assessment said the planned £4.8 billion of welfare cuts will 50,000 more children into poverty.
CPAG predicted: “In the absence of government intervention, the number of children in poverty in the UK is expected to rise from 4.5 million to 4.8 million by the end of this parliament.”
The charity suggested abolishing that two-child limit is “by far the most cost-effective way of reducing child poverty”.
Doing so would cost £2 billion over the next year while similar alternatives – like increasing the child element of Universal Credit by £17 a week or increasing the Universal Credit standard allowance by £25 a week – would cost billions more.
All three of these measures would lift 350,000 children out of poverty “overnight”, but dropping the benefit cap would “stop another 150,000 being pushed into poverty over this parliament”.
The charity warned that if action is not taken, children growing up in poverty “face worse educational outcomes, poorer physical and mental health, and fewer opportunities in adulthood”.
CPAG claimed that child poverty ends up costing the government £39 billion a year, in terms of reduced revenues and increased spending.
Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall refused to say this week what the government wants to do with its upcoming child poverty strategy, but she told the Mirror it would be a personal failure of hers if child poverty rates are up at the next election.
