When mother-of-five Jasmine heard the two-child benefit cap was being abolished, she cuddled her newborn baby in relief and said she was still incredulous.
“I was shocked and stunned,” she said. “It is one of those things that people have been campaigning for and talking about, but I didn’t think it would actually happen that they would get rid of it.
“I am so happy as I cannot imagine what it is going to do for so many families, let alone for myself and my family unit – especially as I have recently had another little girl.
“It is going to have an amazing impact on so many children and families who are struggling with day-to-day poverty.”
The two-child benefit cap will be scrapped in full from next April, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in the Budget.
The policy, introduced under the Conservatives in 2017, means parents can only claim benefits such as universal credit and child tax credits for their first two children.
Announcing the move, which is estimated to cost £3bn a year by 2029/30, Reeves stated that the Labour Party “did not believe that the solution to a broken welfare system is to punish the most vulnerable children.”
The cap does not affect child benefit, which is paid to families where the highest earning parent earns less than £80,000.
Jasmine, 30, who lives in Dorset and is a single mother to five children – aged nine, eight, five, three and a four-week-old baby, told The i Paper the axing of the policy will make a huge difference to her and her children and will mean she will no longer have to sacrifice meals herself when times are tight.
“I grew up in poverty myself and having gone through it, I know what that is like,” she said. “I grew up in a family that knew how to stretch money and make every penny last and go that bit further, so thankfully, I have always been very wise with money.
“But when you are only getting benefits for two of your children, it makes life very difficult and you have to make sure they are all treated fairly and get the same.
“I always put my children first, so sometimes, when times have been particularly hard, I have had to skip meals myself to make sure they have enough to eat.
“I know there are people who say that if you cannot afford to have children, don’t have them. But life happens and circumstances can mean you are in a position where you need to look after your kids and can’t work for that period of time, as it isn’t possible.
“If you’re a child in that situation, you shouldn’t be essentially punished for having more siblings.”
Jasmine cuddled her newborn baby in relief when she heard the news of the two-child benefit cap being liftedReeves had been under growing pressure to remove the cap with campaigners and Labour MPs arguing that it was the most cost-effective way to reduce child poverty.
The Government estimates it will mean there will be 450,000 fewer children in poverty by 2029/30.
Jasmine said: “I will be able to start getting benefits to cover all five of my children instead of just two of them.
“Any extra will help with those little things such as being able to put the gas on more during the winter months and not having to scrimp and save on food.
“We will be able to put money towards things that we wouldn’t usually be able to afford which will be a great help and be life-changing.”
Jasmine added: “I want a better life for my children and they should not have to grow up in poverty.
“I want them to be able to have a good life and get jobs and contribute to society.”
Lucy Schonegevel, director of influencing at Action for Children, which supported Jasmine through times when she was struggling, told The i Paper the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap marked a “turning point for struggling families across the UK.
“Scrapping the two-child limit is long-overdue and a vital first step towards ending child poverty,” she said.
“We strongly welcome the Government’s decision to put children first at this Budget.
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“Nearly half (49 per cent) of children living in poverty are in families with more than two children. Scrapping the two-child limit will mean fewer children growing up in cold homes without enough food to eat, warm clothes to wear or a bed to sleep in.
“Action for Children sees every day the devastating impact of poverty on children’s lives through our frontline services. Families are being forced to make impossible choices, and we step in to plug the gaps.
“We look forward to the Government’s child poverty strategy, which we hope will go even further to deliver for all children in the coming years.”
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