Shipley MP hails scrapping of two-child benefit cap

Anna Dixon MP

Shipley MP Anna Dixon has praised the Labour Government’s decision to scrap the two-child benefit cap in today’s Budget statement.  

Ms Dixon has long been a vocal critic of the cap, introduced by the Conservative Government eight years ago, and specifically called on Rachel Reeves to abolish it earlier this autumn.

The cap means families cannot receive additional universal credit for their third child or any subsequent children born after April 2017. Families affected by the two-child limit lose about £3,500 a year for each child. 

In her speech today, Chancellor Rachel Reeves stated that the decision to remove the cap will lift approximately 450,000 children out of poverty nationwide.  

Speaking after the Autumn Budget was delivered to the House of Commons earlier today, Anna Dixon MP said: “I was delighted to hear the Chancellor announce that the cruel two-child benefit cap will be lifted. 

“I have long been urging the government to abolish the cap, and I am proud to see our Labour Government taking decisive action today to lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty. 

“This change will have a significant impact on families across the country, but it is particularly crucial for the Shipley constituency and the Bradford District, where thousands of children are living in poverty. 

“I was especially pleased to hear the Chancellor announce that part of the funding for lifting the cap would come from increased taxes on gambling - exactly what I had been advocating for. This means we are both helping to lift children out of poverty and addressing the excessive profits and harms associated with the gambling industry. 

“This was a Budget about fairness and investment in public services. I was also glad to hear the Chancellor announce measures to cut energy bills, boost wages for millions of workers, make permanent the reductions in business rates for retail and hospitality, and freeze rail fares.”