DWP urged to scrap benefit policy that leaves children 'crying with hunger'

Fresh calls for Labour and the DWP to axe the controversial two-child benefit cap are building, as parents open up about their bleak reality of choosing between heating or eating

Labour and the DWP are under mounting pressure to scrap a policy that's pushing thousands of children further into policy. Keir Starmer sparked rebellion within his own party just 15 days after being voted into number 10, suspending seven MPs from the whip for six months.

It came after they voted alongside opposition MPs to call for the scrapping of the controversial two-child cap, which was originally introduced by the Conservatives in 2017. The legislation blocks households with a third or subsequent child born after April 6 2017 from receiving Universal Credit or Child Tax Credit for these children, of which there are around 1.6million in the UK.

It does not apply to child benefit, a weekly payment as low as £16.95 which is made for every child someone has. But Labour has been under pressure to scrap the limit which has been accused of being a key cause of child poverty in bigger families, reports Birmingham Live.

Amongst the critics calling for Labour to U-turn on its decision to keep the policy is Joseph Howes, CEO of children's charity Buttle UK. Writing in the Big Issue, he stressed the importance that benefits like Universal Credit play in providing "an adequate, liveable income to all families in need".

Research by the charity showed out of 1,567 families living in crisis, half are sleeping on the floor at night and having to choose between heating or eating, while one in five families were unable to feed themselves and their children every day. This rose to one in four for families with three or more children. Critics of the benefit cap say axing the two-children limit could quickly change this.

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"I struggle to clothe and feed my son," one anonymous parent said. "I'm diabetic and often don't eat more than one bowl of cereal a day, just to make sure my son has the food he needs." Another said: "Sometimes they're crying with hunger, and I know I'm filling them with empty calories just to tide them over."

Labour was recently told getting rid of the cap could actually reduce deaths and A&E admissions, lessening the burden of the NHS. It follows a new study by researchers at the Universities of Glasgow, Liverpool and Newcastle that analysed local authority-level data.

It highlighted that while doing away with the two-child limit would likely increase benefit spending, this would "likely translate into significant savings for, and relieve pressure on, local authorities". The Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank, has predicted that removing the two-child benefit cap would eventually cost the government £3.4 billion a year, which works out at three per cent of the total budget for working-age benefits.

But Mr Howes said the current rules were leaving families in crisis. He said: "Children in crisis are currently trapped in a well-being emergency – and as with any emergency – we need to see the government running to help.

"Children are not sleeping because they have cold rooms, broken or cramped beds, or nowhere to sleep at all. This leads to stress and fatigue, which causes or worsens the symptoms of mental illness.

"Hunger and lack of food contribute to low energy and irritability, which in turn leaves little mental resources to cope and affects school attendance. These parents are struggling; children are struggling – it’s time for real change."

You can learn more about Buttle UK and its mission here.