Two-child tax policy exposes the hypocrisy of the Prime Minister, says UNISON

The government’s policy of restricting parents’ tax credits applications to two children flies in the face of the Prime Minister’s pledge to fight the “burning injustice” of child poverty, says UNISON today (Monday). The policy, which came into force earlier this year, means that families who have a third child born on or after 6 April 2017 will be £2,780 worse off than a family with a baby born the day before, according to UNISON. As a result of the change, UNISON says that more than a quarter of a million children (256,000) will be living in poverty by the end of this parliament, while more than 600,000 middle to low-income families will be pushed closer to the poverty line. Exemptions to the tax credit limit include children who have been adopted, multiple births or if a child is conceived as a result of “non-consensual” conception. UNISON is extremely critical of this controversial clause because it not only requires rape victims to relive their trauma in trying to justify their tax credit claim, but also dismisses the fact that a pregnancy may have occurred as a result of contraception failures, abusive relationships or religious beliefs. As a result, UNISON believes that many pregnant women already living in poverty will be faced with the impossible choice of either pushing their family deeper into debt or having an abortion. Speaking at a campaign event in Westminster, UNISON President Margaret McKee said: “The introduction of the two-child limit for t...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Press release Margaret McKee poverty tax credits Source Type: news