South Shields MP calls on government to scrap 'cruel' 2 child benefit cap and give 470,000 children hope
The Labour MP for South Shields has urged the government to scrap the ‘cruel’ 2-child benefit cap.
During a session in which MPs raised fears over the funding for the expanded free school meals policy under which the children of any parents who receive Universal Credit will qualify for free food at school, there were also repeated calls to repeal the two-child benefit cap.
Off the back of Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson’s announcement that children from families who are on universal credit would qualify for free school meals from September 2026, some representatives worried that the funding for the expansion of the free school meals programme will come out of already-squeezed existing budgets.
Currently, households in England on universal credit must earn below £7,400 a year (after tax and not including benefits) to qualify for free school meals. The Government has said the expansion will make 500,000 more children eligible for free school meals, and it will save parents nearly £500 every year.
It suggested that the change would lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty, with some MPs asking for the Government to automatically register eligible children onto the scheme. Repeated calls to repeal the two-child benefit cap were also voiced.
Labour MP Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) said: “Can he please today give the 470,000 children affected by the cruel two-child benefit cap some hope that the Government is seriously considering scrapping it, and considering scrapping it very soon?”
Education minister Stephen Morgan said: “It’s not for me to comment on particular speculation at the moment, and extensive work is ongoing on the child poverty strategy which will be published later this year, and obviously an update to the House will be provided in due course.”