Five years ago today, the two-child limit became part of our social security system. Since then, a child born into a family that already has two children has been ineligible for the child allowances in universal credit and tax credits, with very limited exceptions. The consequences of the policy continue to be devastating for the estimated 400,000 affected families and 1.4 million children.Parents affected by the policy who responded to a survey in the last year describe having to go without essentials like food, heating, toilet paper and shampoo. They also report having to cancel their children’s sports and extra-curricular activities like school trips. It’s clear from the 2,500-plus survey responses so far – the largest survey of its kind ever conducted – that parents do their best to shield their children but the impact is often unavoidable. Not being able to provide for their children and seeing the effect this has on their wellbeing takes a heavy toll on parent’s mental health too.The government says parents receiving social security should face the same financial considerations when planning their family as those supporting themselves solely through work. But what about families who had a third child during prosperous times only to hit unforeseen financial difficulty – job loss, bereavement or another of life’s hurdles? And what about children who are happy ‘accidents’, unplanned yet loved all the same? In reality, no one can fully guarantee their financial security for the first 18 years of their child’s life. The majority of families subject to the two-child limit are in work, and many non-working parents aren’t expected to because they have young children to look after.The government appears to have no answers for these inconsistencies in its logic – and children in larger families are suffering the consequences.With living costs now rising at the fastest rate in over 30 years and energy bills soaring, we can only expect these families’ circumstances to deteriorate further. Many simply have nothing left to cut back, and every additional pound spent on energy can mean a pound less on other essentials.Parents are all too aware of the consequences of these impossible decisions for their child’s wellbeing today and their development for the future. As one survey respondent put it: “I feel like [I] fail my children. I want them to have all of the opportunities possible to become successful in their lives but it feels that in order to do this you need money.”Six months ago, the chancellor said: “I passionately believe that we have a duty to give young families and their children the best possible start in life”. The two-child limit is incompatible with the fulfilment of that duty. The policy must be lifted to allow all children to thrive.
THE Bishop of Worcester, Dr John Inge, has criticised the Government’s Spring Statement for not doing enough to alleviate pressures on the poor, and said that the Church was “reaching the limit” as to what it could do to cover the shortfall.Dr Inge (see photo) was speaking in a debate on the Spring Statement in the Grand Committee of the House of Lords on Thursday.“While it is clear that the measures announced in the Spring Statement and previously by the Chancellor on energy prices and other measures will help lower-income families, it is far from clear that they will compensate for price inflation,” he said. “The fact is that they most likely will not. It is also the case that, while the increase in prices is universal, the support offered by these measures is not, and there will be vulnerable groups who will not feel their impact.”Dr Inge said that the Church had been “very active in seeking to alleviate poverty and everything associated with it since the crash of over ten years ago”, but it needed more support from the Government.Dr Inge pointed to the results of the online Church in Action survey, which suggested that 78 per cent of C of E parishes were running or actively supporting a foodbank last year; this figure had more than doubled in the last ten years (News, 30 April 2021).He continued, however: “My fear is that we are reaching saturation point on what remedial measures civil society can realistically take.”The debate was opened by Baroness Penn, who reiterated the measures announced by the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, in the Spring Statement on 23 March (News, 25 March). Charities working with disadvantaged people, among them Christians Against Poverty (CAP) and the Children’s Society, have been critical of what they regard as the Government’s inadequate response to the cost-of-living crisis.Dr Inge referred to the results of a survey by CAP, which suggested that only 20 per cent of adults felt prepared to deal with rising costs; and he quoted the Resolution Foundation’s prediction that, “taking into account the measures announced by the Chancellor”, a further 1.3 million people would fall into poverty in 2022-23, including half a million children. Dr Inge suggested that churches and other organisations would, as a consequence, be under “huge pressure” to “step up and provide additional support to help more people, through things such as foodbanks. . .“I am nervous about whether we are reaching the limit of what agencies in civil society can realistically do.”The Conservative peers Lord Horam and Lord Bourne joined cross-benchers and peers from other parties in calling for an increase in Universal Credit. Two weeks ago, the Bishop of St Albans, Dr Alan Smith, told the House of Lords that criticism of Universal Credit was “not going to go away”, and he endorsed a report that called on the Government to make substantial changes to the system (News, 1 April).Dr Inge was also among the peers who called for greater urgency in combatting the climate crisis, which he described as “the most serious crisis of our times”. He spoke of being “moved by the experience related by archbishops of the Anglican Communion. . . whose provinces are already being devastated by the impacts of climate change”.Dr Inge was one of the more than 200 church leaders who signed a letter calling on the Chancellor to use the Spring Statement to promote green energy (News, 25 March).The Government was criticised by Conservative and Labour peers for not making reference in the mini-budget to the ambition to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth, a former Leader of the Welsh Conservative Party, welcomed the VAT cuts on energy-saving materials announced in the Spring Statement, but said “we undoubtedly need to do more.”Baroness Penn, representing the Government, confirmed that the pledge to reach net zero remained in place; she said that the “ultimate goal of a lower-tax economy will be responsible and sustainable”.
Thursday evening will see the sixth and final meeting of our Lent course community. We will meet as usual in the Vestry at Hascombe Church at 7pm.You are very welcome to join the gang of regulars who have been attending. If you can't be with us in person, please click on the Zoom link below to join us remotely.<a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86285911070?pwd=RFBFNHBPTVE1cVlUbzkvd0szOGFrUT09">https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86285911070?pwd=RFBFNHBPTVE1cVlUbzkvd0szOGFrUT09</a>
Ady Hodgkinson, 54, had an alcohol and heroin dependency for many years before discovering the difference that God could make in his life. “My life had been quite a mess,” he said.“I’d been drinking since I was 21 and used drugs. “I knew something wasn’t right with my life, I’d been through rehab programmes.” A friend had suggested that he should volunteer at Aspire Ryde, a Christian community hub based in the former Holy Trinity Church. “I enjoyed the work, but after a year, something strange happened,” Ady explained. “An old friend came into the building who I hadn’t seen for 30 plus years. He had been praying to meet friends from the past, so when he met me, he said it was an answer to prayer. “Then one evening, he sent me a link to a sermon he was doing online.“Out of curiosity, I clicked on the link, he was talking about how Jesus can save us, if we ask him into our lives. “The next evening, he did another online sermon. He was saying if we wanted to ask Jesus into our lives, we should follow him in this prayer. I spoke out loud the prayer, I had nothing to lose. “Then there was a third online sermon. I don’t know why, but I thought I’d watch again. “I just started to sob and sob.“Tears were falling like a tap had been turned on. I had an inner peace from then onwards and a feeling that all my worries had been lifted.”
