Scott Compton

Really interesting. It seems to me the green paper proposal would particularly disadvantage a dual earning middle income household that becomes a single earner household for health reasons, delivering precisely the opposite of this new politics of contribution we keep hearing about.

Cracking picture!

Families with children disproportionately bore the brunt of social security cuts through the 2010s. The tail of that damage is long, but the government deserves credit for beginning to unwind it.

Thanks to @bigissue.com for publishing my comment piece on the child poverty strategy.

Though clearly a finely balanced thing, the gap between rates had widened over time, and most 18-20 yr olds are already paid at or above the adult rate. Suggests to me there was scope for narrowing. Young people themselves (e.g through end child poverty coaliton) have also advocated well on this.

'Benefits street' is a devastatingly low blow for children living in poverty in the UK

Tabloids labelled the end of the two-child limit on benefits the 'opening of benefits street'. Joseph Howes explains why this is so dangerous.

It was a lot. I didn’t realise I’d be placed all over social media. I thought it would be just a couple of pictures for something, but it is what it is now. I have thought about it a lot this morning and I had to put my thoughts down on paper.

Stacey from @changingrealities.bsky.social has written such an honest blog about why, even with awful trolling, she won’t stop speaking up for people living in poverty

www.changingrealities.org/blog/why-i-w...

The Child Poverty Strategy: a long overdue step forward Last week the UK government published Our Children, Our Future, the first child poverty strategy in nearly 15 years. It involves the two-child limit being scrapped in full.

My reflections on last week's child poverty strategy; its significant strengths, and why it can't be the last word: www.actionforchildren.org.uk/blog/the-chi...

The "ballooning" welfare bill is the myth that just won't die

Gosh, this is such an important point. And imagine many parents just won't want to proceed with a CoC now even if it's presented. So damaging

Excellent thanks Peter, wondered how well that claim stacked up. Though I spose the first Blair term was a year shorter!

Scrapping the two-child limit *is* welfare reform. Defining ‘reform’ solely as ‘cut’ is one reason why it’s proved so difficult

I think the minimum wage only looks "really high" in narrow statistical terms. The standard measure is relative to a median that has been stagnant for ~15 years, so misses the cost of living impacts. On the ground, working parents at/near the minimum wage are increasingly relying on food banks.

The #workandpensionselectcommittee commissioned analysis to estimate the savings and financial benefit of Universal credit (UC) claimants currently unemployed or economically inactive returning to work through employment and health support programmes.

There is no need for a moral panic about the UK's welfare system.

Far from perfect but recent discourse is nuts

Spending is controlled, not spiralling

Worklessness is near record lows

My column www.ft.com/content/ee67...

Yes a lifelong taxpayer / middle earner who falls long-term sick would be much worse off under the green paper proposal than they are currently, which is hardly championing the spirit of 'contribution'

As they arrive at the Labour Party Conference, we're greeting Keir Starmer and his MPs with a message that demands a screen bigger than 21,000 mobile phones*:

"What was the point of winning the general election if not to lift kids out of poverty?"

1/3

Very interesting (and clever) study, though GLD at 5 is perhaps a rather short-run metric in this context (I know the study acknowledges this). Be interesting to see against longer-term outcomes. Any prospect of linking this dataset directly with benefit data in future?

Only exempting the 59% of affected families that are in work would of course do nothing for the very poorest families, while saving a relative pittance in welfare budget terms. UK child poverty levels are extremely high both historically and internationally, half measures wont cut it

59% say they support it in a single issue YouGov poll, but the BSA survey also shows large majorities recognise there is a lot of poverty in Britain and want government to do something about it. How people feel about it is also v. contingent on how it is framed - More in Common did some work on this

Thanks for updating this Ben, a really valuable corrective to a persistently skewed narrative

UKRI announces first UK-wide birth cohort study in 25 years A ground-breaking UK-wide scientific study will help improve the lives of future generations by studying 30,000 children born in 2026.

Announcing Generation New Era: the first UK-wide birth cohort study in 25 years.

It will study 30,000 children born in 2026 across the four nations of the UK.

Watch out for upcoming opportunities for researchers and other stakeholders to engage with the study team via @clscohorts.bsky.social

The prime minister must face facts and end the two-child limit on benefits A group of charities have joined together to write to the PM calling for action on child poverty and an end to the two-child benefit limit.

'It's time to face facts and end the two-child limit on benefits' - our op-ed with other organisations
www.bigissue.com/news/social-...

Child Poverty Reduction Unit

Good to see a big investment in tackling child poverty from the NE Mayor, an action plan with actual tangible actions and clear measures of progress. Sets a strong example for other local leaders of what can be achieved at this level, while recognising national policy has the biggest role to play.

It's time to scrap the two-child benefit cap – we can't afford not to Whether this government will scrap the two-child benefit cap is regarded as a critical test of its commitment to driving down child poverty.

I have written for the @bigissue.com on the two-child limit and the resurgence of an old debate, is cash or services best for reducing child poverty? I argue social security is not just a short-term fix, but essential to enabling parents to engage with services and promoting good outcomes.

'A year on, children can't wait. Starmer must end the two-child cap now' - LabourList Charity bosses call for Starmer to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

One year on from the Child Poverty Taskforce launch, the govt has made strong commitments on free school meals, social housing, family hubs & crisis support. But success hinges on what is to be done on social security this autumn, as per this piece from @cpaguk.bsky.social , us and others

The impact of the two-child limit continues its relentless rise, over 1.6m children & ~40K more than last year (the year-on-year increase was somewhat offset by end of tax credits in April). As the policy is still rolling out, more children will be pulled into poverty every day it remains in place.

This is a message to Keir Starmer.

Almost 40,000 MORE children are missing out on the support they need because of the two-child limit than there were last year.

We urge the UK Government to scrap the two-child limit now.

Write to your MP: bit.ly/3GKJVfS

Humiliation for Starmer as he loses control of Commons The BBC's political editor Chris Mason and chief political correspondent Henry Zeffman on the welfare bill.

Yeah, sorry here's link
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Guardian had something similar.

Concerning to see. The government won't get
child poverty falling on their watch while the two-child limit remains in place. Hope the wrong lessons are not being drawn from the past week...