Wednesday, November 06, 2024
The two-child hypocrisy
The paper says that MPs can claim almost £7,000 per child each year for up to three children on top of their standard accommodation budget, which can be up to £29,000 a year. However, people claiming universal credit or tax credit eligible for a child benefit uplift cannot receive support for more than two children:
Labour has been under pressure to scrap the two-child benefit cap, including from its own MPs, but Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves have said the estimated £2.5bn to £3.6bn cost is not affordable.
The cap was introduced by the Conservatives in 2015.
In recent years, some MPs have been able to claim up to £40,000 annually for accommodation costs, including additional funding for their children.
They are entitled to apply for accommodation costs to compensate for living and working in two locations – their constituencies and London – worth up to £29,290 a year.
They can additionally claim for up to three dependants – a child under 18 or an adult who needs care – up to a maximum of £6,680 per child or person.
Data published by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) show that more than 180 MPs claimed the £6,680 uplift for at least one dependant in the 2022/2023 financial year, the most recent year for which data are available.
According to IPSA, dependants include children up to the age of 18 for whom the MP has parental responsibility or a person claiming disability benefits for whom the politician is their primary carer. The dependant must be registered with IPSA by the MP for the claim to be valid.
The accommodation uplift only includes spouses who meet the criteria of a dependant, such as if the MP is also the primary carer for their partner.
MPs can also claim money to cover travel between their constituency and London for themselves, their spouse and dependants.
In 2022/2023, 21 MPs claimed the uplift for three children, 13 of whom were Conservative MPs and five of whom were Labour MPs.
Given the pressures on MPs and their families, this allowance may well be perfectly justified, but to deny it to rather pooer mothers is just hypocrisy.
