Rachel Reeves suggests family benefit limits will be lifted

Rachel Reeves has suggested she is in favor of removing limits on benefits based on family size in next month’s Budget.

The Chancellor told the BBC it was not right for children from large families to be “punished” for “no fault of their own”.

The comments are a sign that the Conservative Party may scrap the two-child limit on working age benefits it introduced in 2017.

Some Labor MPs were calling for a complete reversal of the policy following reports that he was considering cutting payments after two children.

In September, the Guardian reported that Treasury officials were considering a tiered approach where parents would receive maximum help for their first child and less for subsequent children.

According to the newspaper, other options being considered include limiting additional benefits to three or four children.

But speaking to Matt Chorley on BBC Radio 5 Live, Reeves suggested he did not want to see benefits limited to family size.

“I don’t think it’s right for a child to be punished for being in a larger family through no fault of their own,” he added.

“And so we will take action against child poverty. The last Labor government proudly reduced child poverty and we will reduce child poverty too.”

Elsewhere in the interview, he confirmed that the government planned to break Labour’s manifesto pledge at last year’s general election not to increase income tax rates, VAT or National Insurance.

“It would of course be possible to stick to the commitments in the manifesto. But that would require things like deep cuts in capital spending,” he added.

“What I can promise now is that I will always do what I think is right for our country. It is not an easy choice politically, but I will do what I think is necessary to put our country on the right path.”

Labour’s 2024 election manifesto pledged not to increase basic, higher or additional income tax or National Insurance rates. last fall’s turn When Reeves announced an increase in employer contributions.

It was also promised that Value Added Tax (VAT), a sales tax, would not be increased; However, the manifest did not specify whether this was applied to prices or which products were subject to a fee.

The Chancellor has not ruled out continuing to freeze income tax thresholds beyond the 2028 date set by the last government; This will allow more people to be dragged into higher levels as their wages rise over time.

Asked whether he could avoid tax rises through lower public spending, he said he would “make no apologies” for increased funding for the NHS, adding that reducing waiting lists was one of his three priorities in the budget.

In addition, some of the expenditures announced in June spending review It was drafted by the Conservative Party but was not properly funded.

The two-child limit prevents households receiving the general tax credit or child tax credit from receiving payments for their third or subsequent child born after April 2017.

This is separate child benefitThis is paid to families where the highest-earning parent earns less than £80,000.

The Solution Foundation think tank says removing the two-child benefit limit would cost £3.5bn and lift 470,000 children out of poverty.

Sir Keir Starmer has previously spoken of his desire to lift the cap when economic conditions allow, without specifying the exact terms.

Pressure to lift the cap grew during the recent Labor MP leadership contest, with successful candidate Lucy Powell and runner-up Bridget Phillipson saying they were in favor of more action on child poverty.

Reform UK also pledged remove border If it comes to power, it is not “economically credible”, although the Conservatives may have survived it.