EIS calls for immediate mitigation of two-child cap in Scotland

Ministers are facing calls to speed up plans to effectively scrap the two-child cap on some benefits in Scotland – with teachers’ leaders demanding the “immediate mitigation” of the policy.

The EIS said that as it stands, families and children will not benefit from the Scottish Government plans – announced in the Holyrood Budget – until 2026.

The union also urged the Scottish Government to go further with plans to roll out free school meals, with EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley arguing both primary and secondary pupils “should have the right to a free, healthy lunch during their learning day”.

With First Minister John Swinney having declared eradicating child poverty to be a priority for the Scottish Government, Finance Secretary Shona Robison announced in the draft Budget action to effectively end the “pernicious” two-child cap in Scotland from “as early as we can in 2026”.

The co-operation of the UK Department for Work and Pensions is required to achieve this, and Ms Robison said ministers would “work as hard as possible in 2025” on the aim.

She also pledged the Government and councils will expand free school meals to P6 and P7 children from low income families.

EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley also challenged the Scottish Government to go further on rolling out free school meals PA Media

Ms Bradley stressed the EIS “very much supports” the Government’s commitment to tackling child poverty – a problem which affects an estimated 24% of all youngsters in Scotland.

Adding that “far too many young people live with the consequences of poverty”, which can have an “absolutely devastating” impact on them, the union leader told how teachers “frequently witness the damage that poverty does to young people’s educational experience and life chances”.

Branding the two-child cap a “lingering legacy of the past UK Conservative government that the UK Labour Government has yet to commit to overturning”, she said the EIS “very much welcomed” Scottish Government plans to mitigate it.

However she called for Holyrood ministers to act quicker, saying: “We understand that discussions are under way between the Scottish and UK governments as to how this can be taken forward in Scotland, but would question why the plan to scrap the cap will not benefit children and families, in reality, until 2026.

“The EIS would wish to have seen immediate mitigation of the two-child benefit cap given the financial hardship of thousands of families in Scotland right now.”

Ms Bradley also described the Budget pledge on free school meals as being “modest progress”, saying while “the most deprived young people in P6 and P7” would benefit “the damaging impact of poverty on young people does not stop at the age of 12”.

The Scottish Government said an estimated 25,000 more children would benefit from free school meals when it expands the policy to P6 and P7 pupils who receive the Scottish child payment in February PA Media

She said: “The EIS firmly believes that all young people – in both primary and secondary education – should have the right to a free, healthy lunch during their learning day.”

She said there needs to be a “shared, solid ambition to ensure that poverty is prevented from stalking the lives of Scotland’s children and young people”.

However the EIS general secretary added: “We are, sadly, quite a way off from achieving this ambition at the present time whilst one in four children experience it.

“Desire to tackle this issue is an essential starting point but the requisite political and economic decisions need to follow.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government will end the two-child benefit cap in 2026, which the Child Poverty Action Group estimate could lift around 15,000 children in Scotland out of poverty.

“The draft 2025-26 Budget announced a commitment to spend £3 million to develop the systems to deliver the mitigation of the two-child cap.”

The spokesperson said the Government is “also delivering the next phase of our expansion programme for free school meals, which will be to primary six and seven pupils in receipt of the Scottish child payment from February 2025” – with this estimated to make free school meals available to a further 25,000 children.

The spokesperson continued: “We continue to make free school meals available for over 273,000 pupils in primaries one to five and special schools, and to those eligible in P6 to S6, saving families who take up the offer around £400 per child per year.”

Meanwhile a spokesperson for the local government body Cosla stressed “tackling poverty, particularly child poverty, is one of the three shared priorities” contained in the Verity House agreement between councils and ministers.

The Cosla spokesperson said: “We know that the cost of food can be a large expense for families and lack of access to sufficient nutrition has a significant impact on children’s health and education.

“We understand the concern and disappointment at the delay to the roll out of universal free school meal provision to primary six and seven children, and will continue to urge Scottish Government to progress this with urgency.”

A UK Government spokesperson said: “No child should be in poverty – that’s why our ministerial taskforce is exploring all levers available across government to give children across the United Kingdom the best start in life.

“As we fix the foundations of the economy to make everyone better off, we’re increasing the National Living Wage, capping how much Universal Credit can be taken for debt repayments and getting people into work through our Get Britain Working plan to put more money in people’s pockets and help families build a brighter future.”