Bishops urge Catholics to take action on two-child benefit cap that undermines value of new life

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales continues to voice serious concerns about the implications of the current two-child policy on Universal Credit payments for vulnerable, larger families.

Introduced in 2017, the policy has been undermining the financial security of families with three or more children, the CBCEW says. Currently the new Labour government has no plans to change the cap.

The bishops highlight that such families often have no choice but to make claims for Universal Credit as a result of common, but unpredictable, life events, such as job loss or the onset of disability. The majority of families affected by the two-child policy are working families.

“The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales have opposed the two-child cap on Universal Credit payments since its introduction in 2017,” says Bishop Richard Moth, Chair of the Department for Social Justice for the CBCEW.

“We have continually called for its removal because of the impact on family life and child poverty.”

The bishops have consistently argued that the policy has been undermining the financial security of families with three or more children.
 
In challenging times, the CBCEW notes, the cap can prompt families to make difficult decisions about having new pregnancies rather than rightly valuing every new life as sacred and a blessing. 

Bishop Moth said: “I hope that Catholics in England and Wales will take this matter seriously, will pray for a just outcome of this review and will contact their Member of Parliament to make their feelings known.”

Along with making sure policymakers are aware of the strength of feeling from Catholics on this issue, the bishops also wish to demonstrate that supporting families is a central part of their ministry in England and Wales.

This is a matter of principle backed by Catholic Social Teaching, the conference notes. In Pope Francis’s words, large families are “an investment to guarantee the futures of our societies”.

The existence of the two-cap policy implies that society owes less financial security to third, fourth or younger children, in effect meaning they are “devalued”, the bishops argue.

Analysis of official data by the ECPC reveals that 25 per cent of all households affected by the two-child limit are currently single-parent households with a child under three years old, reports the Guardian.

Introduced by the Conservative government led by David Cameron and George Osborne as part of their drive to cut welfare spending, the policy was promoted by Iain Duncan Smith, the then work and pensions secretary, who reportedly believed it would discourage people struggling with their finances from having more children, the Guardian reports.

It adds that Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, previously described the policy as “obscene and inhumane”, while in 2020 Starmer himself tweeted: “We must…scrap punitive sanctions, two-child limit and benefit caps.”

But Starmer later told media he was “not changing that policy” if Labour won power. After a backlash from the party, he defended his position, saying “we have to take the tough decisions”.

The CBCEW notes that Catholic charities, diocesan Caritas organisations and local parishes are at the forefront of supporting families to flourish. They provide food banks, care packages and essential welfare to innumerable families in need.

But, the bishops warn, often the local voluntary sector is unable to meet demand caused by persistent and widespread financial insecurity, which is why the government is needed to assist.

The Bishops’ Conference has launched an e-Action campaign to enable Catholics to simply but effectively make their strength of feeling known on this issue.

Photo: A mother visits a food bank centre located in a church with her one year-old son, Coventry, England, 23 January 2023. She picked her way through boxes of donated baby clothes, toys and other assorted items destined for local people battered by the UK’s cost-of-living crisis. (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images.)

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