MORE children in Tameside are living in poverty, according to new figures – and the two-child limit on benefits Is making things worse.
Research by the End Child Poverty Coalition has starkly spelled the problems families in the borough face.
In five of the borough’s 19 wards, more than a third of kids are eligible for free school meals – the highest percentage being In Longdendale at 38.14.
All three political constituencies have a child poverty rate of 30 per cent or above – Ashton at 41.6, Stalybridge and Hyde at 34.9 and Denton and Reddish at 32.2.
As a borough, Tameside’s figure- after housing costs – has risen to 36.1 per cent from 31 per cent in 2014/15.
And the End Child Poverty Coalition, of which local non-profit Greater Manchester Poverty Action (GMPA) is a steering group member, believes the two-child limit to benefits Is compounding the issue.
Affecting families entitled to benefits who have had a third or subsequent child after April 6, 2017, these parents are denied £3,235 per year per child compared with families who have a third or subsequent child born before that date.
Research suggests that scrapping the two-child limit is one of the most cost-effective ways of addressing child poverty. Ending the policy would lift 250,000 children out of poverty at a cost of £1.3 billion.
Areas most affected by the two-child limit are those with the highest child poverty rates and with more than 10 per cent of families In Tameside falling In that bracket, action has been called for now.
Graham Whitham, chief executive of GMPA, said: “It’s not right that children with two or more siblings are more likely to be growing up in poverty.
“This policy forces parents into horrible choices and denies families the support they need from our social security system.
“Abolishing it would immediately lift 250,000 children out of poverty across the country and help our children to thrive.”
Joseph Howes, chair of the End Child Poverty Coalition and chief executive of Buttle UK added: “Imagine saying to a child who turned up at school – sorry you can’t gain access, we won’t fund your education – only your two older siblings qualify.
“Or turning a child away from hospital when they need treatment, as they are the third child in a family. Yet this is exactly what the unfair two-child limit to benefit payments does, it denies families the support they need, at a time when they need it the most.
“As a parent I want to be able to provide for my children, especially at a magical time like Christmas. But we know from speaking with families impacted by the two-child limit that this time of year is anything but joyful.
“Instead, they worry about heating their homes, and providing even basic food over the Christmas period.
“If political parties seriously want to tackle child poverty, they need to start by scrapping the two-child limit to benefit payments.”