Leicester: Catholic bishops in England have urged the UK government to abandon its policy of restricting government welfare schemes such as child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children of families. The bishops are requesting that a new budget be announced. The bishops pointed out that the policy would lead to child poverty and an increase in abortion. Under the ‘two child limit’ policy introduced by the UK government in 2017, every child in a family with three or more children will lose approximately £ 2780 ($ 3,500) in child tax credit and universal credit annually.
Bishop Richard Moth, chairman of the Social Justice Department of the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales, and Nigel Parker, director of the UK-based Catholic Union, wrote to the newly appointed Chancellor Rishi Sunak on February 24, expressing their concerns about the policy. The letter said the government’s policy was a means of keeping up with last year’s election promise by the ruling Conservative Party to eliminate child poverty through tax cuts. The letter also states that every child is equally important and that the human dignity of the child should be maintained.
Seventy-eight members of the Labor Party and twenty-three university teachers have written to Rishi Sunak demanding the same. According to a report by the Child Poverty Action Group Commission of the Anglican Church in England, some 160,000 families are suffering from this policy. Most of them come from families with three children. The report says that by 2023-2024, the two-child policy will push three million children into poverty and one million children currently living in poverty. Over 95% of those surveyed said they were unable to afford the basic expenses of life. The new budget was announced on March 11.
