Birmingham Lib Dem's Leader Roger Harmer: “Let’s scrap the two-child benefit cap for the sake of our children in Birmingham.”
Birmingham Liberal Democrats are raising the alarm bell about the dramatic growth of child poverty in Birmingham. We need urgent action to tackle this now. The most effective way to do this is to remove the two-child benefit cap.
The latest Child Poverty statistics show Birmingham has the highest levels of Child Poverty of any local authority. Birmingham’s rate stands at 48.3% compared with a national average of 31%.
Three of Birmingham’s constituencies are at the top four in the country, by highest levels of child poverty; with Ladywood 1st, Hall Green and Moseley 2nd and Yardley 4th.
When the Birmingham Child Poverty Commission was held nearly a decade ago, Manchester had higher levels of child poverty, and since then, Ladywood has climbed from third to first worst in the country.
Birmingham Liberal Democrats are asking: What has gone so desperately wrong in our City under Birmingham Labour’s leadership? We are not going to give up speaking for our children. Every single penny we now spend to protect and support them is an investment in the future of our country. It is an investment in the future of Birmingham.
We are determined to solve this urgent crisis. The two-child benefit limit is clearly a significant factor in the rise of Child Poverty. Nationally, if you are a child in a family with 3 or more children there is a 44% chance of living in poverty compared with 31% overall. Experts across the field are now acknowledging that the two-child benefit limit is massively harmful.
Birmingham Lib Dem Group Leader Roger Harmer said:
“Birmingham Liberal Democrats are calling for the two-child cap benefit to be scrapped in the incoming budget. This is the most effective way to tackle child poverty in Birmingham."