Child Poverty Action Group

@cpaguk.bsky.social

8142 Followers 216 Following

Child Poverty Action Group is the leading charity campaigning for an end to child poverty in the UK.

Illustration of people looking at balloons and a sign saying 450,000 children lifted out of poverty.
Three children playing
This is a historic day for children and families across the UK as legislation to remove the two-child limit from our social security system starts to make its way through Parliament. The two-child limit was an awful experiment that hurt children. More than any other policy, the two-child limit is responsible for driving child poverty to its current record high. Poverty has a devastating impact on young lives. Children going without things they need to learn and grow, living in damp homes, struggling at school, facing isolation and stress. Today marks the moment when we start to turn things around for the next generation. We commend the government for making the choice to scrap the two-child limit and ask all MPs to stand with children and support this Bill. Every child deserves the best start in life, with a decent childhood that lays the foundations for a strong future. Ending the two-child limit sets our country on the right path to meet that ambition.
Quote from Shauna, who is married with three children: '[Scrapping the two-child limit] will make a big difference because we’ve had to incur debts. Hopefully it will mean I can cover the last bills that come in each month instead of being in the red. I could buy a new mattress for two of my children. They can feel the springs on the mattresses they’ve got that they’ve had for many years.'
Dear Prime Minister, I’m writing to you since some families are going through something called poverty, which is not okay! 1 out of 3 children in the UK live in poverty! If you make this change, then everyone can live happily, and for everyone to live happily then they must have drinkable liquids and healthy foods. Please please make this change for the country and for the people in poverty. For people to feel save should be treated equally and have a place to relax and sleep. Please ask the Government if this is possible. From Robyn in Year 3!
Handwritten letter that reads: Dear Sir Keir Starmer, My name is Iris. I am a primary school child. I am writing this letter to inform of my concern for my fellow children. I have heard that one in every three children live in poverty. I do not think this is right or fair. We are the next generation and one day we will be dealing with the problems and situations of the world. Yet that day is not today. It is wrong that a weight like poverty should be placed upon the shoulders of young children, some under five. Children need so much – love, care, maybe games to play, food and education to prepare them for adulthood. Please, Prime Minister Starmer, you have the ability to change this. So many lives will be different, better. I am no politician – I don’t make the decisions. All I ask you to do is pay a little more attention to the situation. Yours sincerely, Iris
Handwritten letter that reads: Dear Prime Minister I am writing to you because I think it’s important that all children in the UK have what they need to be happy and healthy. I believe all children need to be happy and safe. Thank you for reading my letter. Yours sincerely Maryam
As this government recognises, every child deserves the best start in life. But a record 4.5 million children live in poverty. Their life chances are being held back and their potential wasted. They deserve better. At the Budget, the Chancellor has a unique chance to change this. By fully scrapping the two-child limit she can deliver a decisive shift in children’s opportunities, and in our country’s future potential. We have come together as diverse organisations who recognise that turning the tide on child poverty is crucial for children, and also for wider ambitions on housing, education, health and national growth. Reducing child poverty will boost family budgets, and local economies. It will reduce household debt, and cut the huge future costs of poverty faced by our schools, hospitals and other public services. Every day the two-child limit remains, in any form, it pushes children into poverty. Now is not the time for half-measures. Now is the moment for the Prime Minister and Chancellor to hear the voices of the UK’s children and take this vital opportunity to do the right thing. Abolishing the two-child limit in full will set millions of children’s lives on a path to a brighter future, and help to rebuild a stronger, fairer country and economy.
Gordon Brown speaking at CPAG event
Photo of Gordon Brown with CPAG logo in background
Video of a young child falling (AI), with the text: 109 kids are falling into poverty every day because of the two-child limit. The government must scrap it for all children.
Fully updated in 2025, the Child Support Handbook is the standard practical guide to the statutory child maintenance scheme in England, Wales and Scotland.
Welfare Rights Bulletin 307 front cover
This updated guide is for anyone working with families to help maximise their income or deal with a benefit problem. Inside this guide: explanation of benefit rules, Scotland-only payments, help with school costs like free meals, clear examples & practical advice.
Family buying an ice cream from a van
Postcard of a beach with deckchairs, and the words 'wish I was here'