WHEN WILL THE TWO-CHILD BENEFIT CAP BE LIFTED IN SCOTLAND?

SNP MSP Clare Adamson, pictured right,  asked the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of any implications for its work to mitigate the two-child benefit cap of the UK Government’s reported proposals to replace the cap with a so-called tapered system.

John Swinney told her: “I have seen the press speculation to which Ms Adamson refers. It is important that the UK Government lets us know as soon as possible about any plans that it might have because, as Ms Adamson will know, the Scottish Government is pressing ahead with our measures to abolish the two-child limit, which should have been undertaken as one of the first acts of the Labour Government [at Westminster].”

Clare Adamson replied: “In hearing the murmurings, I was not surprised to find out that Labour is now back-pedalling on its plans. With a record 4.5 million children living in poverty under the Labour Government, plans to introduce a tapered system are nowhere near good enough.

“Will the First Minister join me in calling for the UK Government to reconsider that short-sighted proposal and instead follow the Scottish Government’s lead, dump the cap and dump the so-called rape clause?

The First Minister said: “I very much associate myself with the comments that Clare Adamson made. The Scottish Government is taking measures that are resulting in a reduction in child poverty in Scotland, but all the estimates show that, as a consequence of the actions of the Labour Government, particularly in welfare reform, there is likely to be a rise in child poverty across the rest of the UK, and, of course, across the rest of the UK, the level of child poverty is already rising.