2,980 children in 870 Derry homes affected by 2-child cap on Universal Credit

Figures obtained by the End Child Poverty Coalition, NI Anti-Poverty Network and Save the Children, reveal 11% of children in Foyle are affected by the two-child cap on Universal Credit and Tax Credits.

Thousands of children in hundreds of homes are affected by the cap which denies parents with a third or subsequent child born on or after April 6, 2017, extra UC support.

It points out that 23 per cent of children in Foyle already live in poverty and that parents affected by the cap are denied £3,235 per year per child compared with families who have a third or subsequent child born before that date.

Save the Children’s Naomi McBurney said: “It is completely unacceptable in 2023 that any child is living in poverty, let alone nearly a quarter of children. The two-child limit is unjust and unethical.

“We know that the public in NI agrees. Our recent poll found that 64% of people believe that the two-child limit is unfair or very unfair. The government does not limit education or access to the NHS to the first two children in a family, so it certainly should not apply to the child payment for UC or Tax Credits.”

Siobhán Harding, of the Women’s Support Network, said: “The two-child limit is an attack on children, women and low-income families.

"This policy pushes more families into poverty, as it means the loss of over £62 per child per week for those families impacted.”

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