00:01Giving our children the best start in life, unlocking their full potential, is
00:07so important to our country's future. And that is the purpose of this
00:12government. Children who will benefit from, yes, from this policy and give
00:18everybody in this room and everybody else a fair chance in life. So this is
00:22not about the policies of who's up, who's down this week. This is about
00:26generational change. Labour want to scrap the two-child limit on universal credit.
00:33Tonight, Conservatives are voting against that because this is about fairness. You
00:39don't get a pay rise from your employer when you have another child. You make
00:42your money stretch further. The two-child benefit cap has officially been scrapped
00:48as of April the 6th as part of a range of welfare reforms coming into force with
00:54the new financial year. The change means that some 480,000 families with three or
01:01more children will see an average rise of £4,100 a year. But the cap scrap seems to
01:08be a major point of contention for those with differing views across the country.
01:12One mum told the BBC the rise was a massive help in dealing with the rising cost of
01:19living, while charities have described the move as a game changer. But some critics
01:24have suggested the government could spend the money better elsewhere. This topic seems
01:29to be a particularly divisive one in the UK at the moment. For the past nine years, parents
01:35have only been able to claim universal credit or tax credits for their first two children,
01:40a policy estimated to have saved the Treasury about £3.6 billion a year.
01:46The end of the two-child benefit cap is expected to lift around 450,000 children out of poverty.
01:54First introduced by the Conservatives in 2017, the cap limited households to receiving per-child
02:01financial support for only their first two children. The policy change was announced by
02:06Chancellor Rachel Reeves during last year's budget, following months of pressure from Labour
02:11backbenchers. The budget was a moment of personal pride for me. I do not want to see a country
02:20where children grow up in poverty. I don't think anybody in this country wants that. It is a
02:28fundamental British belief that every child should go as far as their talent will take them.
02:34And poverty is a barrier to that. But the views on the move remain divided. Some opposition leaders
02:43have said that the country cannot afford to fund the lift of the cap. The system is not fair to
02:50those
02:50who pay for it. As a signal of intent today, reform is changing our policy on the two-child cap
02:59for
02:59universal credit. The policy was well-meaning. We want to help British working families to have more
03:08children. But right now, we just can't afford to do so with welfare. So it has to go. As reformed
03:16shadow
03:16chancellor, I'm ending it. A reformed government will restore the cap in full.
03:23Conservative critics argue that families on benefits should face the same financial choices
03:29regarding the number of children as working families, claiming taxpayers shouldn't fund larger
03:34families. Some opposition voices, including those within reform movements, suggest that reducing child
03:41poverty should focus on boosting work opportunities and supporting small businesses rather than removing
03:48benefit limits. Overall, the conversation lies in the nature of social justice and social fairness,
03:55with proponents arguing that children should not be penalised for their parents' circumstances.
04:01There are also other changes coming into force this financial year, including adjustments to
04:06inheritance tax on farms, tax on dividends, tax relief on venture capital trusts and home working tax relief.
04:14It's another year in which income tax thresholds remain frozen. That means more people are starting
04:20to pay tax or moving into higher tax brackets as wages increase. Changes to the basic allowance for
04:27universal credit paid to all claimants will see around 3 million families receive an average boost of
04:34£120 this year. However, the health element of universal credit paid to claimants whose disability limits their
04:41ability to work is being halved. Existing claimants, around 2.8 million people will be protected,
04:49with the reduction only affecting new claimants. Other benefits, including the main disability payments,
04:55such as personal independence payment, attendance allowance and disability living allowance,
05:00along with carers' allowance have risen by 3.8%, keeping place with inflation. The state pension is also
05:08increasing by 4.8% in line with average wages, thanks to the triple lock.
Comments