Change is coming for families with more than two children, but not soon enough

We see the impact of the two-child benefit cap every day across Trussell’s community of food banks in Scotland. In fact, food banks across the nation are feeding a record number of children and a quarter of food parcels are for families with three or more children.

These families are trapped in a cycle of poverty because of the unjust two child cap. Introduced by the Conservative Westminster Government in 2017 and left in place by the current Labour Government, this cap limits social security support to the first two children in a family. Children are being locked out of the opportunities which many of their peers enjoy, like joining a football team, going to the cinema, or days out in the holidays. These may not be essentials, but really, should any child be locked out of having a fun childhood due to cost?

We’ve heard of parents going without meals and wearing gloves and scarves in their house so that they can afford to treat their children just a little and hide from the realities of poverty. It shouldn’t be too much for families to have enough money to turn on the heating during our bitterly cold winters.

Volunteers unpack food donations at a food bank

No child should know what a food bank is, and no parent should be forced to turn to a food bank to feed their family.

The reality is, there is no route to ending child poverty that doesn’t include scrapping the two-child benefit cap. In fact, our recent Cost of Hunger and Hardship research found that scrapping it would immediately lift 45,000 children out of hunger and hardship in Scotland.

Trussell, alongside our partners in the Scottish End Child Poverty Coalition, have long called on the Scottish Government to use its devolved powers to mitigate the two-child cap in Scotland. We were therefore delighted to hear the First Minister announce their intention to do this in 2026 in the Scottish Budget, which will shortly be passed by MSPs at Holyrood.

This is such an important step forward. It represents the best of devolution. Using Holyrood’s powers to deliver the bold changes needed to get more money into people’s pockets.

Cara Hilton, Senior Policy & Public Affairs Manager at Trussell

It is the right thing to do, and it builds on positive policies like the Scottish Child Payment, which ensures families on the on the lowest incomes have enough money for the essentials. It shows that tough choices come down to priorities.

While the promise of change is great news, the reality is families struggling to afford the essentials today just can’t wait until 2026 for more action. That’s why we need two things to happen.

Firstly, in Scotland, we need the Scottish Government to acknowledge that families need this extra support right now, not next year, and we need to know when the money to fund this will be available. While it is hugely positive the Scottish Government aspire to mitigate the two-child cap it doesn’t mean it is scrapped in Scotland until we see the money allocated to fund this ambition.

That’s why we also need the Scottish and UK Governments to work together to end the two-child cap for good – not just here in Scotland, but right across the UK.

Just as there is no route to ending child poverty that doesn’t include scrapping the two- child cap and investing in social security, there is no route to ending child poverty that doesn’t involve the Scottish and UK Governments working together.

Trussell is ready to work with both governments, alongside many others working on the frontline, in communities across the country and across all sectors, to end child poverty for good.

As the UK Government’s Child Poverty Taskforce takes its time to consider the evidence given by people and organisations from every corner of the UK, too many children in our communities are going without food and other essentials.

Parents and carers are worrying themselves sick about where the next meal will come from, how to buy their children shoes, and how to pay next month’s bills. Families are making impossible decisions every single day. An exceptionally high number have no choice but to turn to a food bank.

We have the opportunity to change this, and our governments at both Holyrood and Westminster must grasp this chance. We can end child poverty. We can end hunger. We can build a future where everyone can afford the essentials. It just takes the political will. There is no time to lose.