Lib Dem Boss calls on Metro Mayor to back calls to scrap the Two Child Benefit Cap

Cllr Carl Cashman has called on Steve Rotheram to join with other politicians calling on Labour to end the two child limit to benefit payments.

This Wednesday, Liverpool City Council will consider the main opposition motion from the Liberal Democrats calling for the end of the Two Child Benefit Cap. Leader of the Liverpool Liberal Democrats, Cllr Carl Cashman has written to the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram urging to pressure the government into scrapping the cap. 

In the letter, Cllr Cashman highlights the impact of the ban not just on Liverpool - the area most affected within the combined authority - but the city region as a whole. Liverpool has 36,840 of 105,845 children living in poverty across the City Region.

In the city region 13% of children are affected by the cap compared to 15% in Liverpool. With 7,820 households in Liverpool out of 22,520 households across the whole of the city region affected by the cap.

Nationally, scrapping the cap would lift 250,000 children out of poverty overnight and significantly reduce the level of poverty experienced by an extra 850,000 children.

Cllr Cashman paid tribute to the hard work of volunteers working across the city in foodbanks and toward supporting people living in poverty, including the impact that additional cash will bring to families if the cap is lifted.  

Cllr Cashman said, “I truly hope Steve will join the calls to scrap the cap - I think if he did, he will be the first metro mayor to do so. He’ll be standing on the right side of this argument. I can’t see why Labour won’t commit to scrapping it - as we put in our motion scrapping the two child cap would only cost £1.3 billion, but the estimated cost to the economy of child poverty is £39 billion each year. Even if they commit to it in principle it would be a clear indicator that this new Government is working towards ending child poverty once and for all.”