Agenda item

To consider the following Motion in the names of Councillors Marchington and Munro;

“This Council notes:

1)    The two-child limit to benefit payments was introduced by the Conservative Government in 2017 and is currently supported by the new Labour Government. The cap restricts Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit to the first two children in most households;

2)    The recent research conducted by the End Child Poverty Coalition, which has found that:

·       1.5 million children in the UK live in households subject to the two-child limit on benefit payments. This is roughly one-in-ten children in the UK.

·       In 2023/24 the two-child limit cost families up to £3,235 per child each year.

·       There is a strong correlation between families affected by the two-child limit and those who are living in poverty.

·       Scrapping the two-child limit would lift 250,000 children out of poverty overnight, and significantly reduce the level of poverty that a further 850,000 children live in.

·       Scrapping the two-child limit would cost £1.3 billion. However, it is estimated that child poverty costs the economy over £39 billion a year. This includes increased public service expenditures and lost economic output, due to lower earnings potential among adults who grow up in impoverished conditions.

3)    New data which reveals that the Yorkshire and Humber region, which includes Kirklees, is a hotspot for children hit by the two-child limit on benefits, with 13% of children in Yorkshire and Humber impacted. As a comparison, across the nations, the figure is 11% for both England and Wales. At the same time, the number of children living in poverty in Kirklees in 2021/22 was 34,969. That is 33.7% of all children living in the district;

4)    The Liberal Democrat national party has consistently opposed the two-child limit to benefit payments since it was introduced – calling for it to be axed in their 2017, 2019 and 2024 manifestos. Council notes with concern the stance of the Labour Government, who are committed to keeping the cap – going as far as suspending the whip from MPs who rebel against this position.

This Council believes that:

The two-child limit to benefit payments is a cruel and harmful policy that should be scrapped. Research from the University of York has shown that its introduction has had no positive impacts on employment and earnings. Instead, it has dragged thousands of local families into poverty and has been a key driver of child poverty in recent years. Furthermore, the policy has had a negative impact on many people’s mental health, increasing stress and anxiety and harming their wellbeing, with knock-on effects on children’s opportunities and wellbeing.

This Council, therefore, resolves to:

1)    Instruct the Chief Executive to write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Prime Minister indicating Kirklees Council’s strong belief that the two-child limit to benefit payments should be scrapped – which would help many children and households in Kirklees;

2)    Further, instruct the Chief Executive to write to all MPs covering Kirklees Council’s area, asking them to commit their public support to the campaign to end the cruel two child limit to benefit payments;

3)    Ensure the number of children a family has is considered when a hardship grant is given out by the Council.”

RESOLVED – Motion not carried.