Around 1.6 million children are missing out on thousands of pounds a year due to the two-child benefit cap, piling pressure on the Labour government to scrap the policy.
The damning new figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show that 1.3 million children are living in a universal credit household and 270,000 living in a child tax credit household.
Campaigners have branded the policy, which was introduced by the Conservative government seven years ago, as “cruel” and one which is neither “moral nor necessary”.
In response to the latest figures, work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall described child poverty as a “stain on our society” and that “too many children are growing up in poverty”.
She said: “We will work to give every child the best start in life by delivering our manifesto commitment to implement an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty. I will hold critical meetings with charities and experts next week to get this urgent work under way.”
Ms Kendall’s comments come despite Labour refusing to make a manifesto commitment to scrapping the cap. Sir Keir Starmer said it was a “tough decision” not to promise to scrap it, but that he would not make “unfunded promises”.
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