Overview

• The UK government has postponed its flagship child poverty strategy, originally due in spring, to align with the autumn budget.
• The delayed strategy was expected to include a recommendation to scrap the two-child benefit cap, which affects over 1.6 million children and pushes approximately 100 children into poverty daily.
• Interim measures such as free breakfast clubs, minimum wage increases, and affordable housing initiatives have been introduced to address child poverty in the short term.
• Charities and experts warn that delaying decisions on the two-child cap could result in tens of thousands of additional children falling into poverty before the autumn.
• Labour ministers, including Keir Starmer, face internal divisions and backbench pressure on whether to prioritize abolishing the cap, with some officials citing cost-benefit concerns.