Adopted children made exempt from two-child benefit cap
Friday, April 20, 2018
Families with adopted children will no longer be penalised by the two-child benefits cap, the Government has announced.
The work and pensions secretary Esther McVey announced today that all children who are adopted will not be taken into account for the purposes of the two-child limit in tax credits and universal credit.
It follows the decision by a high court judge last week that children looked after by kinship carers will be exempt from the cap on benefits. The High Court accepted the claim brought by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) on behalf of one claimant household that the two-child limit on tax credits and universal credit for families providing kinship care is unlawful.
As a result of the move by the work and pensions secretary and the high court ruling, households with adopted children and/or children being looked after by friends and family will no longer be impacted by the reform, which came into force on 6 April.
Under the reform, families who claim tax credits or universal credit that have a third or subsequent child born after 6 April 2017 can no longer claim a child element for this child or any future children. The child element is worth up to £2,780 per year (£232 per month).
Before the policy came into effect, the benefit was payable for all children in low-income families to help protect them against poverty.
Analysis by CPAG and the IPPR found that once universal credit is fully rolled out, the two-child limit on benefits will result in up to 200,000 additional children in poverty.
The work and pensions secretary said, ‘Adoptive parents and non-parental carers, known as ‘kinship carers’, have often stepped in to help a family member or close friend in times of need. They have provided support and provided a home for a child in need. It is therefore right that Government supports them in doing so. That is why today I am extending the existing support for children and families in these circumstances.
‘The role these parents play in helping to bring up these children is invaluable, and I want to reassure such parents that this change ensures support will be made available to you, and this government is backing you.
‘Universal Credit is a brand new benefit, that is flexible and responsive, so as we begin to deliver it across the country we are taking a test and learn approach, and if need be, adapting where necessary. This is precisely what we have done here to make sure there is support given where it is needed most.’
The Child Poverty Action Group welcomed the move but urged the minister to go further and ensure all children born as a result of non-consensual sex are exempt from the two-child limit.
Chief executive Alison Garnham said, ‘This is a welcome move which follows on from our legal case on kinship care. It is the right thing to do for families who take on care of some very vulnerable children. We hope it will be followed by a decision to exempt all children conceived as a result of non-consensual sex. We argue that the overall two-child limit breaches fundamental human rights and we will continue to challenge its lawfulness.’
