The Bishop of Leicester has suggested the government review the current two child benefit cap, saying that the policy is a contributing factor to poverty and harms the health, wellbeing and life chances of children.
The Rt Rev Martyn Snow, who is the Church of England’s lead bishop on poverty, pointed to recent research that suggested nearly a third of British children are living in relative poverty. In many areas more than half of children are in a state of relative poverty.
Relative poverty is generally defined as being on below 60 per cent of the median income. It differs from absolute poverty, which suggests an inability to afford basic necessities.
The research said that in 2023/24, some 4.5 million children were in relative poverty, representing 31 per cent of children in Britain. The highest rate of child poverty recorded was Birmingham Ladywood, where 62 per cent of children are considered to be in relative poverty.
The data was compiled by The End Child Poverty Coalition, together with the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University.
The researchers suggested that the two child benefit cap is a key driver of child poverty figures. This has resulted in a situation where a child with two or more siblings is more likely to be in poverty than if they were an only child or only had a single sibling.
Scotland, which does not have the two-child benefit cap, had lower child poverty levels than the rest of the country, although the proportion of children in relative poverty was still more than one in five.
Bishop Martyn said, “These statistics remind us of the sheer scale of child poverty and the particularly high levels in certain parts of the country. Churches are doing all they can to love their neighbour and offer hope and opportunity to people in the communities they live among and serve.
"But we know from the struggles of many people in our congregations, and the demand we see for our projects every day, that there is much work to do to turn the tide on poverty. I pray that the Government's child poverty strategy will rise to the challenge we face, addressing the two-child limit and other policies which drive poverty and harm the health, wellbeing and life chances of our children."
