Overview

• The Resolution Foundation projects 4.6 million children in the UK could live in poverty by the end of this Parliament if current policies remain unchanged.
• The two-child benefit cap, introduced in 2017, is identified as a key driver of rising child poverty, restricting financial support for families with more than two children.
• The think tank recommends fully abolishing the two-child limit and the benefit cap, estimating the move could lift 740,000 children out of relative poverty by 2029-30 at a cost of £4.5 billion annually.
• Labour MPs and child poverty advocates are pressuring Prime Minister Keir Starmer to prioritize scrapping the cap, arguing it is incompatible with a credible poverty reduction strategy.
• The government is formulating a new child poverty strategy, but critics warn that inaction could lead to an embarrassing record of worsening poverty rates.