Dear John

More than 170 church leaders from across the UK signed our letter, published today, which urges the Chancellor to scrap the unjust two-child limit in social security systems.

Senior church figures from multiple denominations joined the growing national calls, ahead of the new Government’s first Budget, on 30 October 2024.

They signed an open letter, coordinated by Church Action on Poverty as part of Challenge Poverty Week. The letter says:

“It should be a universal national aspiration that all children in the UK have the best chances our country can provide. This should be a country that creates opportunities, which believes in and pursues progress, and which does all it can to enable children to flourish and pursue their dreams.

“Towards that end, the UK’s shared social security system should be just and effective. Yet, right now, the two-child limit is instead creating a great injustice. It is, in reality, a sibling penalty. It punishes children for the fact that they happen to have more than one brother or sister. Something that should be a joy – sibling companionship – is instead held against children, denying them access to the opportunities, security and basic sustenance that all children deserve and need.”

The Government’s own statistics show that 1.6 million children in 440,000 households are affected by the sibling restriction, with families missing out on up to £3,455 a year. There is widespread consensus that ending this policy would be the single most effective step the Government could take towards ending poverty, immediately freeing 300,000 children from poverty.

We hope that this statement from churches will help persuade the Government to end this injustice. We'll let you know what response the letter receives.

Best wishes

Liam Purcell, Church Action on Poverty