Uncovering two children ‘helps a lot’

Removing the benefit cap for two children would “help a lot” to pay for everyday essentials, a mother-of-three in Bradford said.

There has been speculation that Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves could use her Budget speech later this week to lift the cap, which currently means parents can only claim universal credit or tax credits for their first two children.

Imtyaz Begum, who receives benefits for her older children, aged seven and nine, but not her youngest, aged four, said she would welcome an end to the two-child benefit limit.

“It would give me that little bit extra for the third child, which means I won’t be scrambling and saving for my last pennies. It would be nice,” she said.

“I have £55 left. It should last nine days – and that’s basically on food – so I have to budget as much as I can, it’s going to be difficult,” she explained.

The two-child limit was introduced by Conservative Chancellor George Osborne and applies to third, or subsequent, children born after 6 April 2017.

A total of 1.6 million children are living in larger families which as a result cannot claim these benefits according to means.

If the cap had not been introduced, affected families could receive an average of £4,400 in benefit entitlements per year, roughly a tenth of their total disposable income, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Rachel Reeves suggested she was in favor of removing the limits on benefits linked to family size in this week’s Budget.

The Chancellor previously told the BBC that it was not right that children in larger families were “penalized” through “no fault of theirs”.

Caroline Goodwill, manager at Scholemoor Community Centre, which Mrs Begum attends, said there were families who would “benefit a lot” from the removal of the cap, but she could “see both sides of it”.

“Some people think that mothers are having children so they can claim more benefit,” she said.

“But I think it helps a lot of kids in this area where families are struggling.”

Ms Begum said removing the two-child benefit cap would “help, not just myself but a lot of people out there who are struggling and don’t want to say they’re struggling”.

“You want to save a little for your child for a rainy day in case you need something. It would be really great if they picked it up,” she said.

Lifting the cap was one of three suggestions made by mayors from across the north of England in a pre-budget letter to the Chancellor.

In their letter to Rachel Reeves, the mayors – including Tracy Brabin, from West Yorkshire, Luke Campbell, from Hull and East Yorkshire, David Skaith from York and North Yorkshire and Oliver Coppard, from South Yorkshire – said the move would “lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty, including more than 100,000 in the North”.

“Many northern communities are disproportionately affected by the two-child benefit cap, with higher rates of child poverty. Its impact is most acute in areas of reinforced disadvantage,” the mayors’ letter stated.

“Reversing the cap would lift around 630,000 children out of poverty across the country – with the North seeing the biggest impact. It is one of the most cost-effective and immediate levers to reduce poverty and unlock opportunity,” she added.

In their letter, the mayors also asked Rachel Reeves to invest in infrastructure, such as Northern Powerhouse Rail, and to support businesses in the north of England.

Oliver Coppard, mayor of South Yorkshire, said: “We are confident that the government is listening.

“They have a whole series of concerns that they have to balance, and it is not an easy financial position that they are in.

“But we are saying with one voice that these are the things we really want the government to recognize,” he said.

Hear highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Soundscatch up with the end episode of Look North.

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