Child-related benefits may be 'capped' at two children

chris_m

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20077758

Child-related benefits for families may be capped at two children, the work and pensions secretary has said.
Iain Duncan Smith said stopping the current system, where families get more benefits the more children they have, was part of sweeping changes planned.
Families on benefits were often "freed from" the decision of whether they could afford more children, Mr Duncan Smith said, and must "cut their cloth".

Sounds a good idea to me and about time too - provided there are measures put in place to ensure that it only affects people who have more than two kids after it takes effect, IMO they shouldn't penalise those who already have more.

WantToBeSE

I think its a great idea in theory! I am a bit confused though- do they mean that this only applies to people who are already on benefits when they become pregnant?
What about people with more than 2 kisd, who lose their jobs and need benefits for a short while?

Carl31

its a good idea, but standard child benefit after child 2 is pretty low anyway, is it about £15 a week per child?

Are people really going to pop out sprogs for £15 a week? Surely its more the fact that having children gives some people an excuse not to work that is more the issue?

silvercar

Housing benefit pays out according to the number of bedrooms you "need", so having lots of children increases entitlement. Restricting HB to 2 bedrooms will go far.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Cannot believe it has taken this long for a politician to suggest such a common sense approach. Will be a massive vote-winner for the struggling middle classes who can't afford to have more kids and wonder why they bother working.

Loopgames

silvercar wrote: »

Housing benefit pays out according to the number of bedrooms you "need", so having lots of children increases entitlement. Restricting HB to 2 bedrooms will go far.

It depends - it may be 3 bedrooms for a boy and girl - depending on ages..is it 10 years?

silvercar

Loopgames wrote: »

It depends - it may be 3 bedrooms for a boy and girl - depending on ages..is it 10 years?

No. Anyone age 16 or over gets their own room, plus anyone age 10 or over is not expected to share with the opposite sex. So a 3 kid family with a boy of 16, a boy of 10 and a baby girl get a 4 bedroom entitlement.

Graham_Devon

Out,_Vile_Jelly wrote: »

Cannot believe it has taken this long for a politician to suggest such a common sense approach. Will be a massive vote-winner for the struggling middle classes who can't afford to have more kids and wonder why they bother working.

You'd think it would be, but according to those who I have heard phone into the radio today....what you would call middle class workers...a good number of them appear to be aganist it.

Listening between the lines, they don't appear to be against it because it doesn't make sense, they appear to be against it because it's the tories "punishing the lower classes".

Therefore, what should be a vote winner on all sensible levels, could actually turn round and be another "them and us" thing, with massive amounts of spin attached to make out the tories are punishing lower classes for fun.

alinwales

I'd be worried about the people who wouldn't be able to comprehend this change, and keep churning out sprogs. No, wait I'd worry about the resultant sprogs. Until they end up in a young offenders' institute.. then they'd claw back the taxpayers money. What goes around comes around.

FTBFun

Graham_Devon wrote: »

You'd think it would be, but according to those who I have heard phone into the radio today....what you would call middle class workers...a good number of them appear to be aganist it.

If you're calling a radio station in the middle of the day on a Thursday, the chances are you would be annoyed at a reduction in state benefits....

dawn_rose

whats the housing rules for one parent and three children all same sex under age of ten? just interested.