27.9% OF GLENRORTHES CHILDREN HIT BY TWO-CHILD CAP

Published date : 11 Jul 2019

27.9% OF GLENRORTHES CHILDREN HIT BY TWO-CHILD CAP

THE TOWN IS ONE OF 3 SCOTTISH CONSTITUENCIES WORST AFFECTED

MSP – TORY GOVERNMENT MUST SCRAP ‘HEARTLESS POLICY’

11th July 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nearly 1 in 3 children living in Glenrothes could be affected by the two-child cap, according to new research – prompting more calls for the UK Government to scrap the “heartless” policy.

New research from the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) has revealed that 160,000 families have had their income slashed by the two-child limit to-date.

The “two-child policy” allows low-income families to claim child tax credits or universal credit for their first two children only.

The charity estimates that more than 3 million children could eventually be affected by the benefit cap.

The figures for Glenrothes are second in Scotland only to the Glasgow Central constituency; with 5170 children and 1525 Glenrothes families set to be affected.

Glenrothes MSP Jenny Gilruth commented in response to the shocking figures –

“I am appalled at the numbers revealed by this research. Glenrothes is the second worst hit part of Scotland because of these changes; the two-child cap is disadvantaging my constituents and its hurting families that need support most.

“The two-child cap is a heartless policy, which turns people away when they most need support, and leaves children to grow up in hardship.

“Yet again, the SNP government has been left to pick up the pieces, investing over £125 million to mitigate callous Tory welfare policies.

“Glenrothes families and children are being punished by Tory austerity – this heartless policy needs scrapped immediately. In the next few weeks we’ll find out who will be the next Tory Prime Minister – but when the fanfare is over, it’ll be my constituents who pay the price – irrespective of who ends up in Downing Street”.

ENDS

Notes:

Map by parliamentary constituency – www.cpag.org.uk/twochildlimitmap

*This map shows data on the number of families with three or more children – and the number of children living in these families – who are claiming child tax credits in each parliamentary constituency, which we obtained through a Freedom of Information request to HMRC (FOI2018/02694). We assume that a similar number of families with three or more children will require support in these constituencies in the years to come. (Eventually, all families with three or more children who claim child tax credits or universal credit will become subject to the limit, as more families with three or more children include at least one child born after April 2017.) Report – http://www.cpag.org.uk/sites/default/files/uploads/All%20Kids%20Count%20report%20FINAL_0.pdf

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