Do you think we should life the two child benefit cap?

[Marshmallow4545]

I believe that the majority of people think that the cap should remain and child poverty should be tackled in different ways.

Personally I would like to see children on FSMs allowed free access to after school extracurricular clubs and activities. I would also provide more poor families with access to food banks and would look to stock these with a range of healthy and nutritious options either through donation or state funding if required. I would also look to recruit volunteers to offer advice on health and diet in these places. I would provide clothing and school uniform banks with high quality, second hand clothing that kids would actually want to wear. I have some branded 'fashionable' stuff my kids have grown out of that's still in great condition that I would happily donate.

All of the above in my view is preferable to lifting the cap and would be more effective in tackling the impact that child poverty has on the child.

So AIBU that the two child cap should remain and we should look at other more direct ways to tackle child poverty?

In Our primary school, no-one can distinguish between those on free meals and those not.
I don’t understand the pp’s thought process either - there’s no stigma because it is anonymised.

This will be the last nail in the labour coffin if this happens.

No, absolutely not.

It isn't a very sustainable system though. If you look at how much of our tax is spent on paying off the interest on the national debt it is pretty depressing.

I spent 43 years of my working life helping the people who are being demonised on here. As did my husband and now my oldest son. How am I giving away other people's money? Even people living in poverty pay tax - maybe not income tax, but we all pay tax.

And btw, I did give away a lot of my money to people worse off than me. MY OWN MONEY.

Have you? Or do you think your own personal income tax is being given away while you pay various people to educate your children, look after your health, empty your bins etc?

I pay tax. Is there something about that sentence that you don't understand?

Probably more than you.

I agree actually, though they're not all addicts. But what I'm trying to say is that the "voucher" system is a pie in the sky thing mooted by people who have no idea about generational poverty.

It's not pie in the sky. It has been proven to be workable and effective. Not perfect, but nothing is.

And how much more would it cost v giving cash?

Thank you.

It would cost more immediately although there are electronic systems now that have reduced the cost massively. It would however be a lot more efficient at meeting the specific aim of tracking child hunger so could be cheaper overall as we know there is a direct link between malnutrition and hunger in childhood and cost to the state later in life.

They aren't going up for everyone though are they? There are millionaires and billionaires contributing nothing in tax at this country. No one seems to be spitting feathers about them as much as they are about people claiming benefits though...

I bet your assumption is wrong!

and would it actually help financially for those receiving the vouchers? Especially if it doesn't cover a wide range of supermarkets?

I currently use a community pantry twice a week which I pay for but it is far, far cheaper than a supermarket shop. With actual cash, I have more options and can also shop around for deals.

Food vouchers are obviously limited which is the point and I'm assuming deals etc in supermarkets wouldn't be allowed with them?

I'm not convinced it would be more beneficial to how I currently use UC for food.

Not this again. Both things can be true at the same time. We can look to tax the rich more and cut the benefits bill. Maybe then we can actually look towards paying down some of our debt that's costing us billions to service each year

On balance no...I'd make at a three child cap, but that's it.

Schools are skint, SEND is broken, CAMHS is overwhelmed, affordable housing is non-existent in most of the country. There are so many needs. And at some point parental responsibility is a thing. And that includes paternal responsibility- I bet at least 50% of child poverty can be traced to useless sperms donor 'fathers' and I'd love to see the state shake them down properly. So many men seem to not pay a penny.

Exactly, should be deducted from the father’s wages. Can’t understand why governments are so loathe to chase this up!

How would it not help those who receive them? It's reduced household food insecurity by 30% in America. The money saved on food can be spent elsewhere. Recipients of food stamps often get extra deals and can even be rewarded for buying healthy foods. It's a very clever system.

You sound financially astute and highly motivated. Lots of people aren't. It's more likely that they will make use of vouchers or stamps than trek to a community pantry.

But by allowing “underprivileged” children free access to breakfast/afterschool clubs etc your making it easier for parents to work. A standard job is 9-5:30 where as the school day is 9-3 and term time only. It makes it nearly impossible for parents who can’t afford full wrap around care because they have a lower income or multiple children.

sure not everyone would work

I hope it’s tapered, as many parents don’t need it. I bet not all the benefit will be spent on the children either. I think vouchers are worth trying, but even they can be misused.

My local community pantry is incredibly busy. It's no different than a trek to the supermarket? Especially if food vouchers wouldn't include all supermarkets because not all are local to some people.

I'm not convinced it would save me money, not unless food vouchers would be accepted at community pantries.

It's not about increasing benefits, it's about changing the system (not overnight obviously but with a plan) to provide early years education for children so that they can be productive members of society later on.
It's better to invest in the youngest than just accepting that a large minority will end up with behavioral and mental health problems due to poverty and parents who don't have the resources or knowledge to support them.
The money will be spent later in any event on disability, unemployment benefit, NHS bills, prison system, etc. We need a government approach similar to the one that created the free school system before which the wealthy claimed it would cost too much and do no good. How wrong were they?
We are importing people into the country instead of setting working-class children up for success. There should be apprenticeships for nursing that target working-class girls as this would solve two problems at once - the lack of nurses and the lack of support for girls from poor backgrounds whose only way to get something in life is to get pregnant to obtain social welfare and accommodation.

Yeah I had an autistic child for the money (which is none).

My brother and SIL have two disabled children. They have four sons in total. First, normal boy, has a degree and a masters, married, just bought a flat in one of the most expensive parts of Scotland. Second/third, twins. SIL had to be induced at 28 weeks as one was taking everything in her placenta and the other was struggling. The one who was struggling is fine, doing his degree, his twin has never spoken etc and has complex needs. The fourth, same needs as his big brother but can talk and communicate better. We love them all.

This thread is awful.

Food stamps in America are accepted almost all supermarket including the likes of Aldi. I don't see why it would be different here.

I suppose the advantages of food stamps is that you have a wider range of choice and supermarkets are more accessible to more people and open longer hours etc. It is also the default way that people buy food so less motivated people would be more inclined to do this.

I don't know why you're talking about your specific case. Are you subject to the child cap? Do you accept that a lot of families are simply aren't shopping pantries at the moment like you are?