Families With Two Or More Children Will Lose Up To £2,000 Due To Freeze On Child Benefit, Claims TUC

Families With Two Children Will Lose Up To £2,000 Of Child Benefit

The freeze on child benefit will make families with two or more children £2,000 worse off, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) has claimed.

In 2016/17, a family with two children will receive £6.35 less per week than they would if the benefit had risen annually as it has done before, researchers at TUC found.

By the next General Election in 2020, they will be £9.05 a week worse off.

Over a five-year period, households with two children will lose £2,017.60, researchers stated in the Eroding Child Benefit report.

Child benefit was frozen in 2011/12 to 2013/14. It was capped for a further two years at 1% in 2014/15 and 2015/16.

And in this parliament the new government have said there will be a further freeze on child benefit in 2016/17 and 2017/18.

The TUC has warned that the Government may continue to freeze child benefit until a month before the next general election in 2020.

During the General Election campaign this year, David Cameron described child benefit as “one of the most-important benefits there is”, according to the Independent.

Annie O'Leary, Editor in Chief of UK's parenting site Netmums told HuffPost UK Parents: "Freezing child benefit will undoubtedly make it tougher for some families but many mums will feel it preferable to axing the benefit above two or three children, as has been touted, or other options discussed by the main political parties.

"Mums are used to balancing the family budget, and they accept the need for the UK to live within its means too.

"A recent Netmums study showed just 19% of parents felt child benefit should be given to all families without restrictions."

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