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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · 7d

Last week we outlined how the Chancellor could fund scrapping the limit through introducing a new sugar and salt tax on unhealthy foods, which would also relieve pressure on the NHS and boost the nation’s health.
bsky.app/profile/resf...

Resolution Foundation @resfoundation.bsky.social · 7d

Is the Government going to announce an end to the two-child limit this autumn?

@ruthcurtice.bsky.social explains why they should ⤵️

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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · 7d

The fiscal challenges facing the Chancellor at the Budget are real and significant, but finding the money to fully scrap a policy that pushes so many children into poverty should be a priority.

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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · 7d

Scrapping the two-child limit in full should be an obvious step in the child poverty strategy. Most of the forecast rise in child poverty this Parliament comes from larger families, and scrapping the policy would lift 500,000 children out of poverty almost overnight.

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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · 7d

The Government wants to deliver an “ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty”. Halfway options that leave hundreds of thousands of children in poverty to save ~£1bn cannot be seen as ambitious.

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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · 7d

And none of the rumoured options is as cost-effective in lifting children out of poverty as fully scrapping the two-child limit, which would cost £7,480 per child lifted out of poverty (the other options range from £7,540 to £10,520.

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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · 7d

The numbers lifted out of poverty would be slightly higher than with a 3-child limit or paying a lower child element for 3rd+ children, but this option would fail to help the most disadvantaged families and would mean a huge income loss if a large family no longer met the working conditions

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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · 7d

Exempting families in work would cost an estimated £2.6 billion in 2029-30 and would lift 350,000 children out of poverty (there would be 120,000 more children in poverty than if the limit were abolished, to save £0.9 billion)

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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · 7d

Compared with a 3-child limit, this policy would benefit families with 4+ children at the expense of those with 3 children. It would still leave a significant number of children in poverty vs scrapping the policy outright

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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · 7d

Setting the child element for third and subsequent children at 2/3rds of the standard child element would cost £2.3bn in 2029-30 and would lift 240k children out of poverty (there would be 230k more children in poverty than with full abolition, to save £1.2bn).

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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · 7d

It would clearly help compared with the status quo, but it would retain the problematic disconnect between need and entitlement in the system for families with four or more children.

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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · 7d

Moving to a 3 child limit would cost £2.4 billion in 2029-30 and would lift 280,000 children out of poverty (compared to full abolition, there would be nearly 200,000 more children in poverty for a saving of just over £1 billion)

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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · 7d

In May, we published this research looking into some of the floated compromise options and the costs and impacts they would have: www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...

Limited ambition? • Resolution Foundation

Abolishing the two-child limit would be the most cost-effective way to reduce child poverty; if it is not scrapped, we project that 4.8 million children (34 per cent) will be in poverty by 2029-30, in...

www.resolutionfoundation.org

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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · 7d

Very encouraging to read that the Government is preparing to lift the two-child limit as part of its child poverty strategy, but it is disheartening that options short of scrapping it entirely are still being considered. Thread on why this would be the wrong choice for an ambitious strategy:

Rachel Reeves to lift two-child benefit cap in November budget

Exclusive: Officials exploring options to change rule that affected 1.7 million children in Great Britain last year

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Alex Clegg

Resolution Foundation @resfoundation.bsky.social · 20d

Over the past two decades, the Resolution Foundation has worked to put living standards at the heart of political debates through its forensic research and hard-headed policy work.

As we mark our 20th anniversary, we reflect on the past and future of living standards in Britain.

👉 buff.ly/NuhNFF9

Ruth Curtice, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, said:
“Over the past 20 years, the Foundation has helped to put living standards at the centre of political debate in Britain. And that’s where they belong given the scale of the living standards slowdown across Britain, which has cost the typical family an astonishing £20,000 a year.
“As we look ahead, the task of raising living standards across Britain is bigger than ever – we simply cannot afford any more stagnation. This makes the work of the Foundation even more urgent as we redouble efforts to push for sustained family income growth.

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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · Jul 29

His album African Giant from 2019 is very good

Reposted by Alex Clegg

Hannah Slaughter @hannahslaughter.bsky.social · Jul 18

ICYMI - new report out yesterday by me and Imogen Stone on how disabilities and caring affect low-to-middle income families, drawing on quant analysis and focus groups with disabled people and carers. Thread on key findings below 🧵 www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...

Don't forget about us • Resolution Foundation

This briefing note combines quantitative data with insights from focus groups to explore how disabilities and caring responsibilities affect these families’ lives and living standards.

www.resolutionfoundation.org

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Reposted by Alex Clegg

Molly Broome @mollybroome.bsky.social · Jul 15

Tonight, Rachel Reeves delivers her Mansion House speech, and we expect she’ll announce the long-awaited review into pension adequacy (alongside other reforms such as financial deregulation).

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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · Jul 14

And, to reiterate, the two-child limit is one of the single biggest drivers of child poverty and scrapping it would lift around half a million children out of poverty almost overnight.

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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · Jul 14

And data on ethnicity of affected households suggests Asian and Black families are over-represented among those affected by the two-child limit, though the big caveat here is that 37% reported their ethnicity as other or did not specify

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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · Jul 14

Data on the age of the youngest child in affected households reminds us that this is a policy that currently affects young children, due to the nature of the roll-out:

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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · Jul 14

8 per cent of households affected by the two-child limit are also affected by the benefit cap. These households will see no gain if the two-child limit is scrapped.

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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · Jul 14

40 per cent of households affected by the two-child limit are receiving a health or disability benefit, and 1 in 4 affected households has a child who is receiving a disability benefit or is blind

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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · Jul 14

59 per cent of households affected by the two-child limit have at least one person in work, and we now have data on affected households' conditionality groups, which shows 21% in the 'Working - no requirements' group, which generally means working full time.

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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · Jul 14

450,000 households and more than 1.6 million children were affected by the two-child limit in April 2025, an increase of 13,000 households and 35,000 children compared to April 2024

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Alex Clegg @alexclegg.bsky.social · Jul 11

Good question! No the data is just for families getting UC who are affected, so the true numbers of households and children affected will be higher than this

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