Boris Johnson is being urged by the government’s own social mobility advisers to scrap the two-child benefit limit that has “penalised” large households and increase universal credit payments by at least £10 a week per child.
In a major report, the Social Mobility Commission (SMC) demands disadvantaged children are put “at centre stage” of the government’s Covid-19 recovery programme, with the £14 billion package to shake-up welfare benefits.
It comes amid growing controversy over the government’s decision to scrap the £20-per-week uplift in universal credit payments — an emergency measure introduced at the onset of the pandemic — in the autumn.
Instead, the commissioners say ministers must “act now to rescue the next generation from decades of hardship”, arguing in the report: “Now is not the time to cut public spending”.
Warning that one in three children (4.3 million) now live in child poverty — an increase of 700,000 on March 2012 — the report says the two-child benefit limit, which was introduced as part of the coalition’s austerity drive, had “penalised” children for being born into large families.
Last week, figures from the Department for Work and Pensions showed that more than 1.1 million children are in families affected by the policy that has been condemned by anti-poverty campaigners and opposition MPs.
They also urge the government to make welfare more “generous” by raising each child payment covered by universal credit and child benefits by at least £10-per-week.
The SMC, an independent statutory body that was recently moved into the Cabinet Office, estimates the £14 billion package will lift 1.5 million children out of poverty and help alleviate extreme poverty for millions more.
Among other recommendations, the commissioners also called for for three million social homes to be built over the next 20 years and the expansion of eligibility entitlement for 30 hours free childcare to all families.
The State of the Nation report warns that the Covid-19 pandemic has held back social mobility prospects for millions, with the poorest families hit the hardest during the last 18 months and “should be helped first”.
“Our report reveals that each of the nations has struggled with the damaging impact of the pandemic from early years to training and employment, and that social mobility, already stagnant, could move backwards,” it states.
“Across the UK there are already signs that attainment gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged children are getting wider.
“Every critical measure of low social mobility — child poverty, income inequality, access to stable housing, unemployment for young people and gaps in school attainment — was poor in 2019. The impact of Covid-19 is threatening to make each of these factors worse.
Interim co-chair of the commission, Sandra Wallace, said: “Now is the time to take action and we must not shy away from difficult decisions.
“Now is the moment to level up opportunities for children across the country. Ending child poverty and investing significantly in education are two of the most impactful and influential things the UK government can do to improve social mobility”.
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