Debate Intensifies Over Scrapping UK's Two-Child Benefit Cap

The Institute for Fiscal Studies reports that removing the cap could lift 540,000 children out of poverty but warns of potential economic drawbacks.

Scrapping the two-child benefit cap could reduce child poverty by pulling 540,000 children out of poverty at an annual cost of £2.5 billion.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) highlights that while this policy change is cost-effective, it is not a comprehensive solution to poverty.
Critics argue that removing the cap may discourage parents from working, potentially increasing long-term costs to the government.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces pressure from within his party to abolish the cap, despite budget constraints and economic challenges.
The IFS suggests that lifting both the two-child limit and the overall benefit cap could further reduce poverty but at a higher fiscal cost.