The 2 child benefit cap lift will be cancelled out by the weekly benefit cap

[Pinkbowls]

I keep seeing all this talk about families with 6+ kids “racking it in” if the two-child benefit cap is lifted, and honestly, it’s hogwash. Here’s the reality:

If the Labour government does lift the two-child cap, it will mainly help low-income working families and families who are claiming disability benefits. These households aren’t subject to the cap, so the poorest families and those who genuinely need extra support for a third or fourth child are the ones who will benefit.

For a single adult with two children outside London, the monthly benefit cap is around £1,832 (~£423 per week). In London, it’s higher, about £2,108 per month (~£486 per week).

Now let’s break it down roughly for someone renting privately:

• Assume the standard allowance + personal allowance for the adult + child elements (for 2 kids) = around £1,200–£1,300/month.
• Private rent in many parts of the UK, and especially in London, can easily eat £800–£1,200/month.
• Add council tax support (which helps a bit, but only partially) and you can see that most of the cap is already taken up.

So in reality, lifting the two-child cap doesn’t suddenly create a pile of extra cash. For families on benefits but below the cap, the extra child element for a third or fourth child may only leave a modest amount after rent and council tax.

The idea that parents with 6+ children will suddenly be sitting on a fortune is completely overblown. The system is designed so that the support goes to those who genuinely need it, not to families already comfortably above the threshold.

The main winners of this policy will be:

• Low-income working families who are earning enough to be under the cap and can actually receive the child element for additional children.
• Families claiming disability benefits, who aren’t subject to the cap at all.

It’s important to separate myths from reality: this is about helping the most vulnerable and supporting working families, not about rewarding large families for being on benefits.

If you are borrowing money to then you will ultimately need to pay that money back. At that point you need to liquidise assets and that's when tax will be payable. Assets can only be leveraged so much.

If you are buying assets then if it's property or general goods then you will almost certainly be paying tax at the point of purchase. There could also be additional taxes applicable for property such as Council tax or business rates.

If they can appear on TV they can hold a job

That is mind boggling in what world should councils be paying almost £2k per month on rent for someone...no wonder we are bankrupt!

My council tax bill is sky high and we get nothing in return....no way should we paying these exorbitant sums on rent from our council tax so others can live in luxury at our expense!

There need to be a total re-set!

It doesn't stack up.

Even therapy for people too mentally ill to ever work?
Cancer treatment for people who are going to die from it eventually?

She was on TV for about 30 seconds. She also said she is looking for work.

Things like Question Time want audience members from all sectors of society, including disabled and unemployed.

Agree,it baffles me with how many celebrities have anxiety and autism yet they can go on live tv,I have both,I work evenings when no one is around.

She didn't know the child was going to be autistic, and she was diagnosed after her child was (which is common in late diagnosed adults).

The courses are level 2, which is not even GCSE level.

Again, the gov funded courses are for ANYONE. You should also go and see if they do one in Empathy.

You clearly have no idea about the various different ways both anxiety and autism present in people. It is embarrassing.

Christ. That course would be full just off the people on this thread alone

85% of these are OFF WORK with mental health issues, how are you relevant in here?

I wasnt talking about those though was I in my initial comment. You're the one that stated those figures. Which is why I said 'ask the assessors'

She would be on UC and have work search commitments. At least she is trying.

Benefits at their current levels are unaffordable and a serious disincentive to work. Benefits need to be reined in not increased in order to ensure we actually have a sustainable system and can provide a safety net for people who need it.

You're wrong of course. Tax evasion is illegal. But that aside, do rich people spend money here? Would a rich person spend more money in the Uk than a person on benefits? Do you want more rich people here?

I bet I don’t have these courses paid for me as a high earner though 🤣

so she didn’t even know she’s so severely autistic until she had a child - presumably she worked before?
is she can study and look after a child she is capable to have a job, she’s not severely autistic to the point she can’t communicate and is banging on walls

I don't have much hope in the pass rate if they did it, either.

Loans are not taxable income
If Martyn borrows £2m a year against his shares, that’s not taxed. He can roll the loan over for years or decades. There’s no income tax due until he realises a gain, and many never do while alive. Very wealthy people often avoid ever “liquidising” assets personally Their shares stay inside companies or trusts. The company might sell or restructure, but that isn’t the same as the individual realising a personal gain. So they personally still owe no income tax.

When they die, the debt is settled through the estate. The loans reduce the value of the estate, sometimes wiping out inheritance tax.
So again, there’s no income-tax event for them.

Then there are non doms who are just earning from a company based abroad, and living here paying no tax for years. They can do this for free for maybe 7 years (might have changed) after which they need to pay a fee, but the fee is usually nothing like what they should pay in tax.

Don't be dramatic! It's not about not giving a stuff we can't keep letting the disability benefit bill spiral! I'm in a team of 7 at work and 4 or 5 of us have health conditions, what if everybody with a condition jumped on the disability benefit bandwagon? You are attacking the hands that feed, it we all start doing it, then benefits gets cut drastically because lots of tax payers will no longer will be working to pay for it! Don't be irrational! The government has said there's too many economically inactive people who don't need to be! It's about being stricter about what passes as a disability that needs money throwing at it! You've got parents telling kids who are on the autism spectrum or ADHD that they are disabled when they actually aren't! Yes they are neuro diverse but they are capable of growing up and having careers and a normal life. I worry these youngest generations are all going to grow up thinking they need disability money and shouldn't be working! You need to calmly accept that there's an issue and it needs to be brought under control.

Fails all round

I didn't assume you were on benefits though. You're a random on MN.

You have no idea about autism and is very obvious. Things like masking and burnout etc.
Lots of women are wrongly diagnosed with other things until they get the right diagnosis.

It's not worth debating with you as you can't seem to grasp that people can legally avoid tax.
I'm wrong in what way exactly 😂

Well no not necessarily. If I borrow a million against my house when it's worth 2 mill and is now worth 5 mil, I don't need to liquidise anything to pay that especially if I've used that milk I borrowed to buy a million in shares that are now worth 10 mil. You have a very very simplistic view of the world, again like you don't understand things are literally set up this way for a reason. It's benefitting who it's mean to benefit. Do you think Elon Musk is gonna have to liquidise his assets to pay back the loan he took out to buy X? 😂 You really think that rich people live in the same systems as you and have the same rates of borrowing and are taxed at all the same thresholds as normal people.

Doesn't stop you being absolutely convinced it's the single mum claiming benefits that isn't pulling her weight.

Autism is classed as a disability. I mean my son speaks single words and isn't toilet trained yet at nearly four. He is on a waiting list for ASD assessment. It is obvious he might have struggles due to being autistic.