DON'T LET KIDS SUFFER

Calls grow for Starmen to end cruel benefits cap as chill of poverty stings 1.6m children

- PAUL HUTCHEON

AROUND 26,000 Scots families have been hit by the Tory two-child benefit cap, piling pressure on Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer to act.

Across the UK, 1.6million kids have been punished by the Conservative's welfare crackdown.

Claire Telfer, of Save the Children Scotland, called the figures an "outrage".

She said: "More and more children across the country will continue to suffer just because they have siblings, unless the UK Government acts now.

"No child should be cut off from support they so desperately need. The limit is cruel and needs to be scrapped immediately to prevent families from facing hardship and destitution."

Introduced in 2017, the cap limits Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit to the first two children in most households. Starmer, who won a general election landslide, has refused to axe it on grounds of cost, but Labour insiders hope a looming review of the system will see it end.

Campaigners believe shock figures released yesterday demonstrate why the benefit curb should end.

DWP stats show there were 1.6million children living in households affected by the cap as of April.

Of these, 52 per cent were in households with three children and 29 per cent were in homes with four kids.

A Scottish breakdown reveals 26,000 families were denied vital support because of the two-child limit.