The government has launched a child poverty taskforce following criticism that the removal of the two-child benefit cap was not included in the King’s Speech.
However, the move may do little to stop Labour MPs from rebelling if an amendment on the issue is selected, with senior backbencher John McDonnell telling Sky News the body is “a step forward but not far enough”.
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The two-child cap, introduced by the Conservatives in 2017, prevents parents from claiming Universal Credit or child tax credits for a third child, except in very limited circumstances.
Critics say it is contributing to rising levels of child poverty, with larger families unable to claim about £3,200 a year per extra child.
Sir Keir Starmer has resisted pressure from some of his MPs to scrap the cap in his King’s Speech, which has prioritised economic growth through measures like housebuilding and nationalising the railways.
But in a bid to address their concerns, he has launched a child poverty taskforce to kickstart work on an “ambitious” strategy to tackle the root causes of the problem.
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Labour government’s first King’s Speech
There is no mention of benefits in the announcement.
The taskforce will be headed by the work and pensions Secretary and the education secretary, who will consider how levers related to household income, employment, housing, health, childcare and education can “improve children’s experiences and chances at life”, the government said.
Mr McDonnell was cautiously welcoming of the taskforce but said it would not stop him potentially voting for an amendment to end the “brutal” two-child policy.
He told Sky News: “The heavy hints are that this will address the two-child limit. So the question now is when the taskforce will meet and report on the two-child limit.
“It will be seen as a step forward but not far enough or quick enough on the specific issue of the two-child cap.”
The former shadow chancellor said that he was “more than likely” to back an SNP motion calling for the limit to be scrapped, depending on its wording.
“I have said I will vote on every occasion I can to scrap this brutal law,” he added.
John McDonnell
Mr McDonnell is among a handful of Labour MPs who have openly called on Sir Keir to re-think his position on the two-child cap.
His colleague Ian Byrne said the taskforce was “positive”, but added: “With 43% of children in poverty, we know from every anti-child poverty agency that removing the two-child cap will have an instant impact and along with a Right to Food will make a huge impact on fighting the poverty and hunger we see across the UK.”
Kim Johnson, the Labour MP for Riverside in Liverpool, has said she will lay an amendment to the King’s Speech calling for the cap to be scrapped, which fellow left-winger Zarah Sultana has said she will back.
The SNP has also said it wants to table an amendment on the issue, while the Lib Dems, the Greens and Reform UK also oppose the cap.
Stephen Flynn directs a question to Keir Starmer.
Pic: PA
The House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle holds the power to select amendments, and this will be decided next week when MPs debate the contents of the King’s Speech.
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Sir Keir’s large majority means he could easily see off even a significant rebellion of his own MPs, as well as opposition party votes.
But a row on his backbenches just weeks into forming a government would nevertheless be embarrassing for the new prime minister.
Speaking in the Commons, SNP Westminster Leader Stephen Flynn asked how many children will remain in poverty while the taskforce does its work, before it “will ultimately lead to the same conclusion we are proposing to stop the two-child benefit cap”.
Replying, the prime minister said he was aware the benefit cap was an issue “across the whole house” and the point of the taskforce “is to devise a strategy, as we did last in government, to drive those numbers [of children in poverty] down”.
He has previously said he would scrap the two-child limit “in an ideal world”, but there is not enough money to do so.
Lifting the two-child benefit cap would cost somewhere between £2.5bn and £3.6bn in 2024/25, according to the Resolution Foundation, which said such figures are “low compared to the harm that the policy causes”.
The Child Poverty Action group said the cap is “driving up child poverty more than any other policy” and scrapping it should now happen in the first budget.