As MPs voted on ending the cap, three-child families in England and Scotland are leading different lives.
Thea and Kirsty both have three children, but contrasting policies on benefits in England and Scotland mean their lives are very different. After a Commons row about scrapping the two-child benefit cap, we meet the families affected.
Thea, a 38-year-old account development manager for a logistics company, knew that money would be tight when she unexpectedly became pregnant. She knew about the policy and did consider alternatives. But ultimately she decided to have Isaac. Thea Jaffe’s predicament goes to the heart of the problem the new government is facing on this issue.The overt aim of the policy was “to ensure that families in receipt of benefits faced the same financial choices about having children as those supporting themselves solely in work," according to then Chancellor George Osborne. The policy, ministers said at the time, would also encourage them to work more.
The 43-year-old works for a charity while her husband, Dougie, is a personal support worker for people with disabilities. Two of their three children – 16-year-old David and Rebekah, 12 – have additional needs, so the family’s total income of £25,000 is often stretched.
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