Starmer's stance on two-child benefits cap criticised as stats reveal thousands of Lanarkshire families affected

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Lanarkshire MSP has criticised Labour leader Keir Starmer for his stance on the two-child benefits cap.The SNP’s Clare Haughey, who represents the Rutherglen constituency and previously served as Minister for Children and Young People, claimed the "only route to real change” is through independence – as the Labour Party look set to abandon a key pledge to tackle child poverty.Labour Party leader Starmer has been roundly criticised for announcing that he would keep the two-child cap introduced by the Tories if he became Prime Minister.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android The cap – which impacts more than 80,000 children in Scotland – prevents parents from claiming Child Tax Credit or Universal Credit for any third or subsequent child born after April 2017 – unless a mother can prove she had a third or subsequent child as the result of rape.New analysis, conducted by the SNP using the latest data available from the UK government Department for Work and Pensions, reveals North and South Lanarkshire are amongst the hardest hit local authorities in Scotland by the two-child benefit cap.A total of 1,420 families are affected by the cap in the South Lanarkshire area.

Another 1,830 families are being impacted in North Lanarkshire. That’s 55 percent of households in both local authority areas that receive