Overview

• Welby labels the two-child benefits cap as 'cruel' and urges its removal for aligning with societal values.
• Labour's Wes Streeting supports Welby's stance but cites financial constraints as a barrier to scrapping the cap.
• The policy, introduced in 2017, limits child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households.
• Critics argue the cap plunges families into poverty, affecting long-term health and educational outcomes for children.
• Pressure mounts on Starmer to address the cap as part of Labour's strategy to tackle child poverty if elected.