Budget 2024: John Swinney urges Rachel Reeves to scrap two child benefit cap

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John Swinney has urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to consign the “cruel” two child benefit cap to history in her Budget today. The SNP First Minister made a last ditch plea for the Labour Government to end a policy campaigners say fuels child poverty rates.

He told the Record: “If the Labour Party is at all serious about reducing and eradicating child poverty, the first thing that the Chancellor announces when she stands up in the House of Commons today should be to abolish the two-child cap. The time to act is now – Scotland’s children cannot wait. The longer the Labour Party delays making the right decision, the more children will be forced into poverty as a result of this obscene policy.”

Reeves will deliver the first Labour Budget in fourteen years after Keir Starmer’s stunning general election win in July. She is expected to announce a raft of tax rises in a bid to fund a big increase in NHS spending and call time on austerity.

Fuel duty for motorists and national insurance contributions for businesses are set to rise, while tax on inheritance and capital gains is also in line for an increase.

Swinney, whose Government will announce its own draft Budget in December, wants the cash raised to end the benefits cap. Introduced by the Tories, the cap limits some means-tested benefits to and forces rape victims to fill out a form if they want payments for a third child.

Swinney said: “The evidence that the two-child benefit cap is increasing poverty in Scotland is undeniable. Over 87,000 children in Scotland are affected by the two-child cap and associated rape clause, which forces women to relive the trauma of sexual assault in order to claim the support they, and their children, need to survive.

“Shockingly, according to analysis by the Child Poverty Action Group, more than 100 children have been pushed into poverty every day as a direct result of the policy since the UK Labour Government was elected in July. The Scottish Government will continue to oppose the cruel two-child benefit cap and rape clause in every form, and demand it is scrapped at every opportunity.”

Labour MPs are not expecting the two child cap to be scrapped in the Budget, but they hope it could go as part of the multi-year spending review early next year.

Swinney’s call came after hundreds of groups, including many based in Scotland, signed a letter urging the Chancellor to axe the cap. They say the cap increases child poverty and punishes larger families.

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In a related call, Swinney said the Chancellor must “immediately and significantly” increase funding for Scotland in the Budget: "It is welcome that my calls for the Chancellor to amend her fiscal rules have been heard, with indications last week that there will be scope for greater investment.

“With these new rules in place, the Chancellor must use the fiscal headroom they create to deliver a Budget that immediately and significantly enhances Scotland’s resource and capital funding, enabling us to invest more in our public services and take forward the vital infrastructure projects that support economic growth, net zero, and action to tackle child poverty.”

A UK Government spokesperson: “No child should be in poverty – that’s why our Ministerial Taskforce is looking at all available levers across government as it develops an ambitious strategy to tackle child poverty. Tackling child poverty is a core part of our mission to give everyone opportunity and grow the economy.

“Alongside extending the Household Support Fund to help struggling families this winter, we are also taking bold action to support people into work to spread opportunity and prosperity to all.”

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