Bridget Phillipson said “it’s not off the table” when quizzed on whether the two-child benefit cap should be lifted.
By Steph Spyro, Deputy Political Editor
Bridget Phillipson leaving Downing Street (Image: Getty)
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has said scrapping the two-child benefit cap is “not off the table”. The Cabinet minister said the policy – which prevents most families from claiming means-tested benefits for any third or additional children born after April 2017 – had pushed people into poverty.
Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves are under pressure to respond to mounting calls for the two-child benefit cap to be axed at a cost of around £3.5 billion. Asked on Tuesday if she would “scrap” the cap, Ms Phillipson said: “We’re certainly looking at it as part of the task force. As I say, nothing’s off the table but this is not straightforward, the costs are high.
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“When we came into Government we had to make some difficult decisions about how we got the economy back on a stable footing, because actually it’s working people who lose out when you have that kind of instability that we saw under Liz Truss, when mortgage rates went up, rent went up as a result of all of the instability and the chaos.
“But I came into politics to tackle child poverty, to make sure that wherever you’re from doesn’t determine what you can go on to achieve in life, to break that link between background and success.
“That is the moral mission of this Labour Government. That is what we are all as a Government determined to deliver.”
She added: “We’ll set it all out later on this year, in the autumn. I think it’s important that we get it right.
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“So what we’ve heard from experts, from organisations, from those who are supporting families and children in poverty, is that they want a comprehensive strategy that addresses every aspect of how we can make sure that fewer children are growing up in poverty.”
The Government’s child poverty strategy, which was due to be published in the spring, is now set to come out in the autumn so it can be aligned with the Chancellor’s budget.
Around 1.6 million children live in a household affected by the cap, according to statistics from the Department of Work and Pensions.
The Resolution Foundation think tank said axing the policy would lift 470,000 children out of poverty.
