Benefits: Two-Child Limit Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for International Development
Lord Skelmersdale
Main Page: Lord Skelmersdale (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)Department Debates - View all Lord Skelmersdale's debates with the Department for International Development
(6 years, 9 months ago)
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Lord Bates
In respect of the kinship carers, that was a decision of your Lordships’ House when the legislation was going through, and of course we uphold that principle. However, here we are talking about cases where there is a third or subsequent child and the initial two places have been taken by either their own children or other children. The noble Baroness is shaking her head and obviously I respect the approach that she is taking. If we could talk about the specifics of the case afterwards, I will certainly make sure that it is taken up with colleagues.
Lord Skelmersdale (Con)
My Lords, I remember when the replacement ratio—the number of children per couple to maintain a stable population—was 2.7. What is it now, and has this had any bearing on the decision that we are discussing?
Lord Bates
The Office for National Statistics says that the average family size in the UK is 85% with two or fewer children and 87% for lone parents. Those are the statistics that we are currently working to.