Overview
- Speaking at Child Poverty Action Group’s 60th anniversary event, Brown labeled rising child poverty a “shameful epidemic” and rejected tapered or three-child alternatives.
- Government sources report the Treasury is weighing options such as raising the limit to three or four children or introducing a taper ahead of a child-poverty strategy and the November Budget.
- The policy, introduced in 2017, restricts child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children, with campaigners saying it pulls 109 children into poverty each day.
- Official figures show 4.45 million children were in relative low income to March 2024, and think-tanks estimate full abolition would cost roughly £3–£3.5bn by 2029/30.
- Brown backed an IPPR proposal to raise about £3.2bn via higher gambling levies, as George Osborne defended the cap before MPs, drawing criticism from opponents.