MP, Labour’s Shadow Work
and Pensions Secretary, commenting on the
Government’s two child limit on tax credits, said:
“An arbitrary cap on the number of children that the Government
will support is not only cruel, but is bad policy. As 90 per cent
of lone parents are female, it is a further example of how these
six years of wasted austerity have been borne on the backs of low
income mothers.
“Of equal concern is the lack of detail surrounding the so-called
‘rape clause’. Should the burden of proof be placed upon
survivors of rape by the Department for Work and Pensions, this
would constitute a wholly unacceptable extension of the
Department’s remit into deeply sensitive areas of women’s lives.
“People would be right to feel little confidence in the
Government’s competence when approaching this highly sensitive
issue. More so when viewed in the context of the punitive DWP
culture fostered by this government.
“The sum of these deeply concerning questions, which hang over
the policy as a whole, suggests that the only solution can be to
scrap this policy once and for all. I urge the Prime Minister to
do so before it takes effect.”
Ends
Notes to editors
has written to the Prime
Minister calling for the scrapping of this inhumane policy, which
will have a devastating impact upon many families on the lowest
incomes in our society. Contents of the letter below:
Rt Hon MP
Prime Minister 10 Downing Street LondonSW1A 2AA
24 January 2017
Dear Prime Minister
I am writing with regard to the Government’s policy of limiting
support through tax credits and Universal Credit to two children,
due to be implemented in April 2017.
I strongly urge your Government to reconsider this social
security policy, which will have a devastating impact upon many
families on the lowest incomes in our society –those ‘just about
managing’ which you have repeatedly claimed that your government
would support.
An arbitrary cap on the number of children that the Government
will help families to bring up is not only cruel, but is bad
policy. As 90% of lone parents are female, it is a further
example of how these six years of wasted austerity have been
borne on the backs of low income mothers.
That members of our Black and Minority Ethnic (BME)community are
three times more likely to have more than two children also
suggests that this policy will have disproportionate impacts upon
people on the basis of their ethnic background. This will
directly contradict the rhetoric of a ‘country for everyone.’
This policy also breaks with a long established principle that
wherever possible the Government should work to ensure that
children’s life chances are not diminished by the circumstances
of their parents. This principle has long formed a basis for a
society that values social mobility, with all the positive
effects that it brings.
Of equal concern is the lack of detail surrounding the so-called
‘rape clause’. Should the burden of proof be placed upon
survivors of rape by the Department for Work and Pensions, this
would constitute a wholly unacceptable extension of the
Department’s remit into deeply sensitive areas of women’s lives.
I do not believe that the Department has considered the profound
implications of this element of the policy. In terms of the
relationship between an individual and the social security
system, which after all is there to support us in our time of
need, but also with regard to practical questions, such as the
sensitivity around data collection of this information, and the
very pressing need for properly trained staff to deal with these
circumstances.
The sum of these deeply concerning questions, which hang over the
policy as a whole, suggest to me that the only solution can be to
scrap this policy once and for all.
I do hope that you will seriously consider this request, in light
of the profound implications of your decision for women across
the UK.
Yours sincerely,
DEBBIE ABRAHAMS MP
Oldham East and Saddleworth
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
