Overview

• The Poverty Strategy Commission published its final report on Thursday calling for abolition of the cap as part of a broader anti-poverty plan built around a new basic minimum.
• The commission estimates its package would lift 4.2 million people out of poverty, including 2.2 million in deep poverty.
• The policy, in place since 2017, withholds about £3,500 a year for third and subsequent children in Universal Credit households, with around 1.7 million children affected.
• The commission frames a basic minimum safety net as requiring an extra £12.5 billion a year, while government estimates put the annual cost of scrapping the cap alone at roughly £3 billion.
• The government says it is prioritizing jobs and targeted support, highlighting extended free school meals and a £1 billion crisis package as it prepares a child poverty strategy, while the commission criticizes the earlier abandoned £5 billion disability benefit cuts.