Councillor Camron Aref-Adib

IT’S difficult to over-emphasise how much of an impact the Labour Government’s decision to abolish the two-child benefit cap will have on tackling child poverty in Camden.

This was something many councillors called for during our last full council meeting, and the numbers show why.

Our estimates suggest over 4000 children in Camden are in households set to benefit.

In a borough where a shocking two-in-five children are currently growing up in poverty, this will be transformative.

Now, the economist in me instinctively looks to quantify the impact of any policy change, and here the figures tell a powerful story.

By the end of the decade, nearly half a million children lifted out of poverty, with 560,000 families set to gain an average of £5,310.

But, while I’ll never be one to shy away from the importance of economic analysis, this is about more than data points on a chart.

This is about showing all children that they matter and rectifying a punitive policy that baked in inequalities for hundreds of thousands of children from birth.

I also want to take this opportunity to reassure residents that we will not rest as a local authority and will continue to play an active role in tackling child poverty in Camden.

Be this through our council tax support scheme, one of the most generous in the country, which exempts 16,000 households out from paying any council tax.

Or, through our cost of living crisis fund which supported well over 3000 households last year, including over 100 in my own ward of Highgate, when costs were rising beyond their reach.

These are measures which we take great pride in delivering locally, keeping the fight against child poverty at the heart of our agenda.

Meanwhile, our newly launched, innovative pregnancy grant provides a £500 cash transfer to allow parents-to-be to plan and prepare for their growing family.

And, whilst I’m delighted at the two-child benefit cap being lifted, there is scope for the government to look at other measures to further tackle child poverty.

Crucially, the freezing of local housing allowance since April 2024, which sets the rate of housing benefit, has made the private rented sector increasingly unaffordable for so many families in Camden, and contributed to our temporary accommodation crisis.

This needs to be unfrozen at the earliest opportunity and a measure, amongst others, that I will continue to advocate for.

But for now, let us acknowledge what a transformational impact the government’s decision to scrap the two-child limit will have for so many children in Camden.

 Labour councillor Camron Aref-Adib is Camden’s cabinet member for finance