Derry councillors urge government to scrap two-child benefit cap

Derry councillors have called on the British government to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

The two-child benefit cap was announced by the Conservatives in 2015 as part of  David Cameron and George Osborne's austerity measures. 

It means while parents can claim child tax credit or Universal Credit payments for their first and second child, they couldn't make claims for any further children they had.

On Tuesday, the new Labour government won a vote in the House of Commons after an amendment to the King's Speech was tabled calling for the scrapping of the controversial cap.

SDLP leader and Foyle MP Colum Eastwood was one of six MPs, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn who tabled the amendment.

Seven Labour MPs have had the whip suspended for six months after voting against the government.

The issue was raised at Wednesday's full meeting of Derry and Strabane District Council in the Guildhall.

People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin commended the MPs who voted to end  the cap. 

He said that the cap had been a major issue for child-poverty groups across the North.

“This has been one of the main issues that  child poverty groups and anti-poverty groups across the North and across these islands have campaigned on for a number of years. 

“It has tied in with a whole series of Tory policies that have caused  tremendous harm and have led to extreme levels of poverty in our own communities,” he said.

Cllr Harkin proposed that council write to the Prime Minister conveying councillors' frustrations and to urge him to scrap the cap.

Seconding the proposal, SDLP councillor Catherine McDaid said the amount of children living in poverty in the city and district is “second to none”.

Cllr McDaid, who previously tabled a motion calling on Stormont to abolish the cap, said the vote to keep the cap was “devastating to hear”.

Cllr McDaid said: “It's unfair and draconian and we just need to do everything we can.”

DUP councillor Julie Middleton welcomed the motion.

Alderman Middleton said: “If there's one thing I care most about in the whole world it is children, I would say most of us are the same.”

She added: “I think it's disgrace that it didn't go through  and just to put on record that our Communities  Minister Gordon Lyons MLA  is working actively on strategies  and mechanisms that he is able to put in place  in a devolved context  to bring forward anti-poverty strategies.”

Sinn Féin councillor Christopher Jackson said that while his party had no issue in supporting the proposal, the vote in the House of Commons demonstrated that no elected representatives from the North had any impact on the British government “whatsoever”.

Cllr Jackson said: “What has been demonstrated here is that regardless of of anybody from this part of the world  taking part in the British House of Parliament have no impact whatsoever.”

He added: “It's very clear that no matter how many MPs that are returned from this part of the world, who claim to have influence in the British House of  Parliament, there is absolutely nobody who cares about the views of the people here in that House of Parliament.

“So if we're going to have real, if we're going to see an end to this to child limit or we're going to see an end to the cruel Tory policies, we need to break the connection with Westminster all together and that's something that hopefully we're going to continue to build and build momentum towards.

“So in relation to the proposals in front of us, we have no issue with it but if the British government don't listen to the MPs that take part in their  parliament, they're not listening to us as a council.

“So the only tangible impact that we can make is to break the connection with Westminster.”