North East child poverty campaigners have repeated calls for the new government to make ending the ‘two-child limit’ an early priority for its promised national child poverty strategy – as official data published today (11 July 2024) shows how many families and children in the region are now impacted by the policy.
Since its introduction in April 2017, the two-child limit has meant that almost all families having a third or subsequent child – both in and out of work – are no longer entitled to receive support for those children through Universal Credit or Child Tax Credits. This sees younger children missing out on up to £66 per week in support that their older siblings receive.
The updated figures from the Department for Work and Pensions confirm that – as at April 2024 – around 19,000 North East families were hit by the two-child limit, of which just over 13,000 live in the North East Combined Authority area and almost 6,000 live in Tees Valley. This is up from 17,550 households across the region the year before.
And – according to analysis by the North East Child Poverty Commission (NECPC) – the new data indicates that around 62,000 babies, children and young people throughout the region are now living in families affected by the policy.
Tackling child poverty
It has previously been calculated that scrapping the two-child limit would be the most effective way for the government to tackle child poverty – as it would lift 300,000 children out of poverty and would mean a further 800,000 children living in less deep poverty across the UK.
And analysis recently published by the End Child Poverty coalition and NECPC has highlighted the ‘extremely high’ correlation between constituencies with the highest child poverty rates and those with the highest proportions of children affected by the two-child limit, including in our region. The North East Child Poverty Commission has therefore long campaigned for the policy to be scrapped, most recently during the General Election campaign.
Today’s figures also confirm that the two-child limit now impacts 440,000 families across the country – including an estimated 1.6 million children – with 59% of families hit by the policy nationally being in work.
Chair of the North East Child Poverty Commission, Beth Farhat, said:
“We have warmly welcomed the new government’s commitment to introduce an ambitious national child poverty strategy. This is desperately needed, and it must recognise the importance of investing more of our nation’s wealth in children and families now, so that they can access opportunities both today and in the future.
“It must also be evidence-led, and it is increasingly clear that there is no route to ending child poverty – either in the North East or across the UK – that does not involve scrapping the two-child limit.
“The new government must make this an early priority, if its child poverty plan is to be as meaningful as tens of thousands of kids growing up now in the North East need it to be.”
CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO OUR CROWDFUNDER
HELP US BECOME STRONGER SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO DELIVER POWERFUL CITIZEN JOURNALISM!
