Two-child limit causing poverty and abortions

The ‘two-child limit’ is a Government policy which means you can only get Child Tax Credit or Universal Credit for your first two children, unless you qualify for a special two-child limit exception.

This means if you have a third or subsequent child, you will miss out on financial support worth £2,780 per year per child.

A new report launched today shows the extreme consequences of this.

As a direct result of the policy, one million children will be pushed deeper into poverty by 2023.

Additionally, the report highlights how several women have shared their decisions on considering or going ahead with terminating their pregnancies.

On top of this, hundreds of parents have also told of the shame and guilt after having to cut back on essentials. A survey of parents already affected shows that 95% have had to cut back on essentials and 88% have struggled to afford food and clothes.

Millions more will be affected while this policy still exists.

What have parents said?

“It has caused so much stress on our family that it is looking like we are headed for divorce. Instead of enjoying the birth of our baby, we have dealt with hardship and having to scrape together for meals. Borrowing money from family for milk and nappies…We had to borrow money for steriliser bottles, pram, cot, everything you need for a baby… We are at an end in our family life and relationship because of the stress and hardship the limit has caused for us.”

“I didn’t have any credit cards this time last year. I’ve got two now and they’re maxed out.”

“Both kids have stopped their swimming lessons. We can’t afford it. Amy has had to finish her football and Corey his basketball. She was at football six days a week and she misses it a lot. What makes it harder is they don’t understand why they could get something before and now they can’t.”

“I tried to go through a termination but we’re in turmoil now thinking how we are going to cope.”

Thomas Lawson, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Turn2us, said:

“Every child has the right to reach their full potential, regardless of if they are the first or fourth born.

“The two-child limit is stripping away this potential by forcing children to grow up in poverty without the very financial safety-nets that are supposed to protect them.

“We speak to people every week who use our services and have experienced serious financial hardship as a result of this policy and are now being forced to make extremely difficult life decisions.

“Turn2us was keen to contribute to this report and we will continue to support the campaign and put pressure on the government to lift the two-child limit.”