Bishops seek clarity from Scottish government as they pledge to end two-child benefit cap

Image J&P Scotland

Source: Justice & Peace Scotland

The Catholic Bishops of Scotland have encouraged the Scottish Government to provide "more detail" over the promise announced in last week's budget to end the two-child benefit cap in Scotland.

In a statement, the Bishops "welcomed" the plans to mitigate the two-child benefit cap, which are expected to impact on the benefits available for more than 15,000 children currently in poverty in Scotland, and stated their hope "that it will be lifted as quickly as possible to allow more children and families to receive support they so badly need".

The two-child benefit cap is a UK-wide policy introduced by the Conservative government in 2017, and has been retained by the current Labour government since coming to power in the summer. In all but exceptional cases, the cap equates to a limit that denies families universal credit support for third and subsequent children, worth up to £3455 a year for each child. It is recognised as the biggest driver of child poverty across the UK, with 1.6m children already affected by the limit, and this figure tracked to rise in the next three years.

Finance Secretary Shona Robison said last week it was the Scottish Government's intention for payments to start to be made to families of three or more children in receipt of universal credit by April 2026 - a month before the next Holyrood election.

Scotland's bishops have long been opposed to the cap which unfairly targets families across the country who are most in need. In their statement, the bishops emphasise the need for action to remove the cap in Scotland at the earliest opportunity.

Jill Kent, Chairperson, Justice & Peace Scotland said: "The promise from the Scottish Government to assist families in need by offsetting the UK government's two-child benefit cap is most encouraging and alongside Scotland's Bishops, we welcome its announcement in the budget. Justice & Peace Scotland are committed to tackling the injustice of poverty and we know that access to this financial support will be transformative in lifting thousands of children and their families out of hardship. We hope the pledge can be delivered sooner rather than later, though, as at present families will not gain access to this vital financial support until 2026, which will mean yet another year of poverty for many children in Scotland next winter. We therefore urge the Scottish Government to do all in its power to fulfil this promise now."

LINKS

Scrapping the two child benefit cap would immediately reduce poverty while investing in the future - The BMJ

Two-child benefit: SNP government vows to scrap cap - BBC News