Two-child profit cap impacts greater than 80,000 kids in Scotland, research exhibits
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he two-child profit cap has affected greater than 80,000 kids in Scotland within the final yr, analysis commissioned by the SNP has discovered.
Analysis by the House of Commons Library additionally decided that an extra 20,000 kids in Scotland have been positioned into poverty on account of the advantages cap.
The news comes as Sir Keir Starmer faces strain to decide to scrapping the two-child profit cap if Labour win energy.
Sir Keir’s stance on the coverage has prompted disquiet from some in his get together.
The analysis for the SNP used the coverage simulation software UKMOD to estimate the impact of the coverage since 2017.
If the coverage was to be eliminated, about 30,000 fewer folks can be in poverty in Scotland, together with 20,000 kids.
In Scotland, in the course of the 2022/23 monetary yr, a complete of 80,936 kids reside in households the place the two-child cap has decreased advantages.
It has been utilized to a complete of 32,616 kids.
Since 2017, when the cap got here into drive, the cap has value households in Scotland £341.3 million.
The analysis additionally confirmed households have seen the true phrases worth of advantages fall properly behind inflation – with working-age advantages rising a cumulative 15.4% over the six years because the coverage was launched.
CPI inflation was 24.5% over the identical interval.
SNP MP Kirsten Oswald stated: “The cruel, Tory, two-child cap has been one of the leading causes of poverty in the UK – and if Keir Starmer continues to impose it, the pro-Brexit Labour Party will be directly responsible for pushing thousands of Scottish children into poverty.
“There must be an immediate U-turn.
“The SNP strongly opposes this shameful and punitive policy, which is undermining the Scottish Government’s efforts to reduce poverty in Scotland, and is plunging working families, disabled people and carers into destitution.”
She continued: “The SNP Government has taken more than 90,000 children out of poverty with progressive policies like the Scottish Child Payment and Best Start Grant – but for every step we take forward, damaging Westminster policies like the two-child cap are dragging us back again.
“With the pro-Brexit Labour Party becoming indistinguishable from the Tories, it’s clear Westminster is incapable of delivering the change Scotland needs.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer argued for extra powers on welfare to be devolved to Scotland.
He stated: “Keir Starmer’s Labour wants to double down on the cruelty and chaos of the Tories.
“Whoever wins the next general election, real change will only come if power is taken away from Westminster and put in the hands of Scotland’s Parliament.
“We would certainly abolish the two-child cap and rape clause without delay.
“This is an urgent test for every Labour MSP.
“Will they stand with us to protect the most vulnerable by calling for these powers to be devolved to Scotland?”
Scottish Labour MSP Paul O’Kane stated the SNP have been trying to distract from their very own failures.
“The two-child cap is a heinous policy that exacerbates poverty and has caused misery for countless families in Scotland and across the UK,” he stated.
“Scottish Labour’s policy has not changed – we opposed the two-child cap when it was introduced and we continue to believe this damaging Tory policy should be scrapped.
“This is a cynical attempt at deflection from an SNP government that has failed to drive down child poverty, close Scotland’s scandalous attainment gap or create a functioning social security system.
“The next Labour government will review the entire Universal Credit system to make it fit for purpose, and it will tackle poverty at its root by boosting wages and building a fairer economy.”
The DWP has estimated the price of ending the two-child coverage throughout the UK would have been about £5 billion between 2019 and 2023.
A UK authorities spokesman stated: “We want to help more parents to re-enter and progress in work and the two-child policy asks families on benefits to make the same financial decisions as families supporting themselves solely through work.
“There, of course, continue to be careful exemptions and safeguards in place within the policy to protect people in the most vulnerable circumstances.
“We are also helping the most vulnerable with a support package worth around £3,300 per household and nearly two million people, including 400,000 children, have been lifted out of absolute poverty after housing costs since 2010.”