Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to monitor the impact of the two-child limit for Child Tax Credits on the well-being of children in large families affected by the policy, since it was introduced in April 2017.

The government is committed to supporting families. We are helping families retain more of what they earn by raising the personal allowance, successive increases mean that a basic rate tax payer will be £1,075 better off in 2018-19 than in 2010-11. Also, to help working parents we have doubled free childcare available for 3 and 4 year olds to 30 hours a week, saving in total around £5,000 a year per child, and we are introducing Tax Free Childcare, providing support of up to £2000 per year for each child. However, there is more to do and the government is committed to delivering a country that works for everyone. Last April, the government published its “Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families” strategy. This focused on measures that tackle the root causes of poverty and improve children’s welfare, in particular parental worklessness and educational attainment. Data on each of the areas targeted by the Strategy is published annually. We keep all our policies under review, including the policy of limiting support in Child Tax Credits.