1,140 East Dunbartonshire kids set to suffer from ‘callous Tory welfare policy’

Some 1,140 children in East Dunbartonshire are set to be affected by the controversial two-child cap, according to new research.

This amounts to 7.7 per cent of the total number of youngsters in the area.

Local MSP Gil Paterson has called for the new Prime Minister of the UK Government the scrap the “heartless” policy.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The “two-child policy” means low-income families can only claim family allowance for their first two children.

Controversially, the only way to claim for a third child is for a mother to prove she was the victim of rape.

New research from Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) has revealed that so far, 160,000 families have had their income slashed.

SNP MSP Mr Paterson said: “Social security should be a safety net for all of us, but the two-child limit is having a devastating effect on families up and down the country, with 1140 of children in East Dunbartonshire set to be affected by it.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“All families are valuable and worthy of support, but this cruel policy turns people away when they most need support. To claim for a third child a mother has to prove that she was raped. Most sensible people think this requirement is demeaning and completely unacceptable in a civilised society.

“As family allowance constitutes a bigger proportion of family income in poorer households, this provision attacks our most vulnerable children and flies in the face of the Scottish Government’s equalities agenda.

“The SNP government has been left to pick up the pieces, investing over £125 million to look after services slashed by callous Tory welfare policies. The next Tory Prime Minister should make it a priority to tackle poverty, starting with reversal of two-child limit and horrendous ‘rape clause.’”