Scottish Government sets date for end of two-child cap in Scotland
The Social Justice Secretary said the Westminster policy will be mitigated from March 2 next year – just weeks before the Holyrood election.
Shirley-Anne Somerville said the move will lift 20,000 children out of relative poverty, according to Scottish Government estimates.
The decision was first announced last year but First Minister John Swinney said his Government needed time to set up a system to mitigate the cap.
Scottish Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville announced the date on Tuesday (Jane Barlow/PA)
Introduced by the last Conservative UK government, the two-child cap limits benefits in most cases to the first two children born after April 2017.
Labour has been reluctant to end the cap, citing economic reasons, but in May the Prime Minister said he will be 'looking at all options' to tackle child poverty, when asked about his intentions on the policy.
Ms Somerville said Scotland cannot wait for a decision at Westminster.
She said: 'The Scottish Government has consistently called on the UK Government to end the two-child cap.
'Reports suggest that they are looking at the impact it is having.
'But the evidence is clear and families and Scotland can't wait any longer for the UK Government to make up its mind to do the right thing and scrap the cap once and for all.
'The two child limit payment will begin accepting applications in March next year.'
She said the policy will begin 15 months after the initial announcement, which she said is the fastest a social security benefit in Scotland has ever been delivered.
She added: 'This builds upon the considerable action we have taken in Scotland, including delivering unparalleled financial support through our Scottish child payment, investing to clear school meal debts, and continuing to support almost 10,000 children by mitigating the UK Government's benefit cap as fully as possible.
'However, austerity decisions taken by the UK Government are holding back Scotland's progress.
'Modelling published in March makes clear that if the UK Government act decisively on child poverty, they could help to take an estimated 100,000 children out of poverty this year.'
The Scottish Fiscal Commission said the mitigation will cost around £150 million next year, before rising to nearly £200 million by the end of the decade.
In March, the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned the policy could harm incentives to work because some of the lowest-paid workers could earn more on welfare than in employment.
The move has been welcomed by anti-poverty charities, who have urged the UK Government to scrap the cap, with the Child Poverty Action Group saying the move would lift 350,000 children across the UK out of poverty.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
8 minutes ago
- BBC News
Durham Miners' Gala: Reform UK councillors 'not invited' to event
Reform UK councillors have not been formally invited to the 139th Durham Miners' Gala after taking control of the local Miners Association (DMA) said the party had "chosen to criticise" the group publicly for its lack of invitation, but said it would not "abandon" its Farage's party won 65 of the 98 seats on Durham County Council in May and newly elected councillor Darren Grimes previously criticised the DMA's decision as the grandson of a Durham miner.A spokesman for Reform UK said the DMA "clearly holds the thousands of former miners and their families who voted for Reform in complete disdain". The DMA said while everyone in Durham was welcome at the Gala, Reform councillors did not share the group's beliefs in "community, in the labour movement and in social justice" and so would not be given a platform at the event."We have not and will not abandon our principles," it added. The first parade took place in 1871 and has become an annual tradition, with banners from former pit villages being paraded through the city the DMA did not invite the new Conservative MPs who won Red Wall seats in 2020 to the Gala over the party's historic treatment of miners.A spokesperson for Reform said the leaders of the DMA were "political dinosaurs" and "completely out of touch with their members and the people of County Durham"."Durham voters gave Reform UK an overwhelming majority on the council on 1 May," they said."The DMA clearly holds the thousands of former miners and their families who voted for Reform in complete disdain."The Gala will take place on 12 July. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Daily Record
10 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Former Conservative MP pleads guilty to harassing ex-wife
Katie Wallis admitted the 'harassment without violence' of Rebecca Wallis between February and March this year. A former Conservative MP has pleaded guilty to the harassment of their ex-wife. Katie Wallis, 41, of Butetown, Cardiff, admitted the 'harassment without violence' of Rebecca Wallis between February and March this year, having left her a number of messages and a voice note. Wallis, who was previously known as Jamie, was the MP for Bridgend in South Wales from 2019 to 2024. At Cardiff Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, District Judge Rhys Williams accepted a basis of plea. Wallis pleaded guilty to leaving the messages, but allegations of having driven by their ex-wife's home were removed from the charge. Wallis will next appear before the court on July 14 for sentencing. Narita Bahra KC, appearing for the defence, said her client did not wish to put their former partner, or their families, through anything further. 'He has, on balance, taken the pragmatic view, and recognises that he has previously had a public profile and taken the view that he can be rearraigned,' she said. Bahra said a psychiatric assessment and a pre-sentence report would be needed ahead of sentencing. She said this would examine what impact Wallis's gender transition had had on their mental health during the period the offences occurred. Wallis, who was wearing a black cardigan over a white shirt, arrived late to court, having waited for the press to enter the courtroom before they did. The defendant spoke only to confirm their details and enter their plea. Wallis said: 'My preferred name is Katie, but my legal name is still Jamie.' Wallis was released on bail.
The Herald Scotland
14 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Somerville rejects poverty target to be substantially missed
However, a new scrutiny report by the Poverty and Inequality Commission warned the 2030 aims were "not at all likely to be met". In an exclusive interview with The Herald on Tuesday, Ms Somerville said her government was ''determined' to meet the targets, before clarifying the targets 'absolutely' will be met. The report, led by the organisation's chair Professor Stephen Sinclair, said: 'On current trends, the Scottish Government is not at all likely to meet the child poverty targets. 'The interim child poverty targets for 2023-24 have been missed and the reduction in child poverty needed to meet the final 2030 targets are now very large. 'Data for 2024-25 will be available till next year, however - given the absence of major interventions to increase incomes or reduce costs during 24-25 – it seems unlikely that it will show a markedly more positive picture than 23-24. Read more: 'Modelling projections of child poverty into the years approaching the final target, based on current policy, suggest the 2030 targets will be missed, and missed by a substantial margin.' The report warned 'decisive action' must be taken now to allow 'any chance' for the targets to be met. While child poverty in Scotland is lower than other parts of the United Kingdom, there remains a 12 percentage point gap between the 2030 target and the current relative poverty rate of 22%. The report warns at least three more poverty-focused policies, on the scale of the Scottish Child Payment, are required. It also welcomes the announcement that ministers will mitigate the two-child benefit cap from March 2026, but warns that could only reduce poverty rates by two percentage points. As Ms Somerville announced the date of mitigation, The Herald asked Ms Somerville whether she was ashamed at the prospect of 2030 targets being missed. She did not respond to this question and instead said: 'We have more work to do. We know that we are making progress and we are clearly disappointed that the interim targets were not met but we are seeing relative poverty levels for children coming down. Read more: 'That's reassuring that we're moving in the right direction but we know that we have to do more.' She added: 'We are determined to meet the targets. We know it's a challenge but we are absolutely determined to make them.' Ms Somerville was asked if she could guarantee relative child poverty would be under 10% by 2030, while absolute poverty would not be above 5%. She said: 'Yes, [I give] an absolute commitment that we will meet those targets.' The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 set the legally binding targets, and included interim targets for 2023-24 which included reducing relative poverty to below 18% and absolute poverty to below 14%. These targets were missed, it was confirmed. Professor Sinclair said: 'The latest child poverty statistics published in March showed that all four interim child poverty targets have been missed, despite there being signs of progress in relation to two of the four – relative and absolute child poverty. 'Delivery of the Scottish Child Payment continues to be a success and the Scottish Government's commitment to mitigate the impact of the UK Government's two-child benefit limit is welcome. However, the Scottish Government has made limited progress in 2024/25 on delivering the other major actions set out in its Best Start, Bright Futures plan. 'There is clearly no lack of belief that child poverty is deeply damaging for children and society in Scotland and that it needs to be eradicated. 'However, our report also makes it clear that the Scottish Government must take decisive action now if it is to have any chance of delivering on the 2030 child poverty targets.' The Herald, alongside 23 leading charities, launched a campaign in April urging First Minister John Swinney to increase the Scottish Child Payment to £40 per week, for each child. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was also urged to scrap the two-child benefit cap as a matter of urgency.
