The Tory government’s two-child limit on Universal Credit is a “clear breach of children’s human rights” and should be scrapped, according to the official children’s champions across the UK.
The Children’s Commissioners of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland wrote to the UK Work and Pensions Secretary calling for an end to the two-child policy.
The austerity policy prevents benefits payments to the third and subsequent children born after April 2017 and has been cited as a factor behind increasing child poverty in the UK.
Ahead of presenting evidence to the Commons Work and Pensions Committee on Wednesday Bruce Adamson, Children’s Commissioner for Scotland, said political decisions to cut benefits were a breach of children’s human rights.
He said: “Living in poverty affects every aspect of a child’s life, including their educational attainment and mental and physical health.
“Now after over a year of the Covid-19 pandemic, the situation for children has become much worse.”
He added: “The Scottish Government has taken some action to reduce the number of children in poverty including rolling out the Scottish Child Payment during the pandemic, however I remain concerned that children’s rights are continuing to be breached in Scotland by the two-child limit on child tax credit and universal credit."
"That is why we have taken the step of writing to the UK Government to urge that this policy is reversed.”
Scottish Labour social security spokesperson Pam Duncan-Glancy MSP said the SNP government should double the £10 a week Scottish child payment immediately.
She added: “The UK Government must scrap this toxic policy and the Scottish Government needs to use the considerable powers that it has to go hard and go fast to end poverty and put money in people’s pockets, now.”
