Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said:
“This is a strategy that has listened to the recommendations from thousands of children. I am grateful to the government for listening and acting in response to some of the biggest hardships in their families’ lives.
“Removing the two-child limit is the single biggest opportunity to transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of children quickly, but alongside this headline there is much to be positive about: investment in safe homes for families facing homelessness, support for those with more than two children, and stopping children from being forced to live in B&B accommodation for lengthy periods – all things I have called for.
“There is also a welcome focus on improving the quality of temporary accommodation, where many children live in the most shocking, Dickensian conditions. Crucially, a new legal requirement for health, care and education services to be informed of these children’s circumstances means they should no longer be left to fend for themselves.
“If we are to end child poverty – not just reduce it – then we must continue to be ambitious for children’s lives. I want to see additional practical steps taken across the country, like free bus travel for school-age children, automatically enrolling eligible children for free school meals so none goes without and a constant focus on improving the public services children use by designing them to reflect their own experiences.”
