Child tax credit – 2 child limit – Government exempts kinship carers and adopters

Statement from Cathy Ashley, Chief Executive of Family Rights Group : Child tax credit – 2 child limit – Government exempts kinship carers and adopters

“This is extremely welcome news for both kinship carers and adopters. Kinship Carers and adopters should never have been affected by the 2 child limit on child tax credit and it’s a great shame that the Government wasted monies fighting this in the courts. However, I’m very pleased that they have now seen sense.

Since April 2017, we are aware of a number of kinship carers including sibling carers, who have been prevented from claiming child tax credit for their own baby because they were already raising their younger brothers and sisters and therefore had more than 2 children in the households. These kinship carers have already given up so much to do right by traumatised vulnerable children in their family. They’ve stepped into, preventing the child entering care. They should be praised and supported not penalised by Government.

This is a victory for Family Rights Group and the Kinship Care Alliance and all those who stood with us. We’re particularly grateful to Child Poverty Action Group for taking the legal case that has helped to cause this change of heart by Government.

We are extremely grateful to Child Poverty Action Group, to Melanie Onn MP who championed this in Parliament and to kinship carers and others who campaigned on this issue”.

Read the statement.