“It’s clear from the latest research that the UK government’s cruel two-child cap is forcing thousands into poverty, exacerbating child poverty and undermining the Scottish government’s efforts to tackle child poverty”, said Natalie Don MSP.
The UK government introduced the controversial two-child benefit limit in 2017, which restricted welfare payments to larger families in an attempt to force parents to find work. However, a study by the London School of Economics (LSE) has found no evidence that parental employment has increased due to this policy and that the policy has left hundreds of thousands of households in poverty.
In contrast Scottish government policies are having a positive impact on children and families, including over 303,000 children being in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment while Audit Scotland have praised the free childcare expansion policies.
Audit Scotland has said that the majority of infrastructure projects and recruitment required to implement the 1140-hour expansion for three and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds has been successfully completed. A further report, this time from the think tank IPPR, also praised the Scottish Government’s Early Learning and Childcare policy for its positive impact in tackling poverty, citing that at least 10,000 people were held above the poverty line, over 2017–20, by the incomes earned while children were in free childcare.
£730 million
That’s how much the Scottish Government spends each year to mitigate Tory benefit cuts.
Natalie Don MSP added:
“The contrast between the two governments could not be clearer. UK government policies are pushing families and children further into poverty while Scottish government policies are doing their best to tackle child poverty.
“The study by the LSE reveals that the UK government’s two-child cap policy increases poverty and hardship and can actually make it harder for parents to take up work.
“We know that the Scottish Child Payment of £25 per week to every eligible child is having a positive impact on children and their families, as is our expansion of free childcare.
“However, all the positive results from the Scottish government policies are hampered by the impact of UK government policies. The Scottish Government spends around £730 million per year to mitigate the worst of the Tory benefit cuts. Yet, while we try to improve the lives of Scotland’s children, the UK Tory government is putting more and more families at risk of poverty with their cruel policies like the two-child cap.
“The only way to escape these Tory policies is regain our independence. Only then can we build on the progressive policies of the Scottish government and build a fairer, wealthier country that puts families and child benefit at its heart.”
Notes:
Two-child limit on UK welfare benefits ‘has failed to push parents into jobs’
Tipping the scales: The social and economic harm of poverty in Scotland | IPPR