Love, Amelia have joined child poverty campaigners from across the North East to send a powerful visual message on the urgent need to scrap the two-child limit in Universal Credit.
In the run up to next week’s Autumn Budget and the long-awaited publication of a national child poverty plan, organisations from across the region came together outside our Sunderland unit to highlight the impact of a policy that is pushing thousands of children into hardship. Alongside partners, we displayed 109 baby grows on a washing line – each representing a child pulled into poverty every single day the two-child limit remains in place.
This display was organised ahead of next week’s Autumn Budget and the publication of the national child poverty strategy. For Love, Amelia, the symbolism is deeply rooted in our everyday experience. We support families who are doing everything they can to provide for their children, yet are held back by policies that reduce their ability to meet even the most basic needs.
The visual display follows growing concern across the region about rising child poverty. A record 4.5 million UK children are now growing up below the poverty line, including around 170,000 in the North East. Without urgent action, research from the Resolution Foundation suggests this could increase to 4.8 million by the end of this Parliament.
Since being introduced in 2017, the two-child limit has removed vital support from almost all families having a third or subsequent child, regardless of whether they are in or out of work. The impact on families is stark. Child Poverty Action Group estimates that 109 children are pushed into poverty every single day the policy remains in place.
At Love, Amelia, we see the consequences of this policy every day. Families affected by the two-child limit are facing mounting hardship, often unable to afford basic essentials for their children.
As our CEO, Steph Capewell, said on the day:
“Every single day, we support families across the North East affected by the two-child limit and facing immense hardship as a result. This cruel policy has to go, and it has to go now.”
We were proud to stand alongside partners including the North East Child Poverty Commission, Hartlepool Baby Bank, the Baby Bank Alliance, Children North East and Barney’s Baby Bank. Each organisation sees first-hand the effects of the policy and shares a commitment to ending it.
North East Child Poverty Commission analysis shows that the two-child limit now affects around 70,000 children in low income families across the region – a number that will continue to rise until the policy is fully rolled out in 2035.
This action builds on the regional letter co-ordinated by North East Child Poverty Commission, supported by well over 100 cross-sector organisations, calling on the Chancellor to end the two-child limit at the Autumn Budget. The message from our region is clear – meaningful progress on child poverty is not possible while this policy remains in place.
