An estimated 160,000 families have already been affected by the two-child limit to date; the majority are working families and the majority have just three children.
This is according to the joint report (pdf) from Child Poverty Action Group and the Church of England. The two-child limit was part of a package of changes to benefits announced in 2015, aimed at reducing spending on working-age families. This report looks at impact of the two-child limit after two years.
The report finds:
- As a result of this policy, 300,000 children will be pushed into poverty and one million children, already in poverty, will be pushed even deeper into poverty by 2023/24
- 95 per cent of survey respondents said that the two-child limit had affected their ability to pay for basic living costs, including 88 per cent who said it had affected their ability to pay for food and clothing
- The families we interviewed were unable to compensate for the reduction in support by working longer hours.
