The two child benefit cap is conscious cruelty
The cruel two child benefit cap increases poverty and punishes vulnerable people, says the Scottish Greens social security spokesperson, Maggie Chapman.
Speaking in a Scottish Government debate on the Reversal of the UK Government’s Two-child Benefit Cap Ms Chapman branded the cap “conscious cruelty.”
Maggie Chapman said:
“The two child limit increases child poverty, especially for the most vulnerable families. It brings with it the old enemies of childhood: hunger, cold, homelessness and family debt. It punishes women, especially lone parents, as they struggle, going hungry themselves, to keep their children warm and fed.
“It violates the most basic human rights, including the obligation, under the UNCRC, to give primary consideration to the best interests of the child. It breaches reproductive rights and blatantly discriminates by religion, culture and gender.
“It undermines healthy relationships, by incentivising separation and discouraging blended families. And its clumsy, cynical exceptions, including the chilling ‘rape clause’, reach new depths of indignity, dehumanisation and danger.”
Ms Chapman hailed the positive impact being made by the Scottish Child Payment, which is supporting vulnerable families all over Scotland:
“We know that the Scottish Child Payment is making a real and vital difference to thousands of children’s lives. But that should be an addition, not an attempt to fill the chasm of this deliberate shortfall, this conscious cruelty.”
In closing, Ms Chapman added:
“We are here to represent the children of Scotland, the families and communities that care for them. If we are truly to do so, the two-child limit cannot last. It shall not last.”