Two-child cap not the only lever we have to tackle poverty, says Rayner
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There are more levers which could be used to tackle child poverty than scrapping the two-child benefit cap, the Deputy Prime Minister has said as the Scottish Government seeks to mitigate it. During a visit to Scotland, Angela Rayner hit out at the Scottish Government’s plans to counter the policy, which only allows certain benefits to be claimed for up to two children.
The two-child limit has regularly been criticised by opposition politicians, including by Labour – with Ms Rayner previously describing the cap as “obscene” – ahead of the election last year which saw the party sweep to power. While UK ministers have acknowledged a desire to scrap the policy, worries over the country’s finances have so far stopped them from doing so.
In December, the Scottish Government announced plans to mitigate the cap, with planning work due to take place this year with a view to a new benefit or other form of mitigation to be put in place in 2026. Speaking to the PA news agency alongside Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar on Thursday in Glasgow, Ms Rayner said: “(The Scottish Government have) said, without any means of funding, that they’re going to do that.
“A chronic housing crisis adds to poverty, people in insecure work, zero-hour contracts, chronic low pay adds to child poverty. “It’s not just one lever, there’s a number of levers that we have to pull to alleviate child poverty, and we’re determined to do it.
