Agenda item

Child Tax Credit Changes

18.1

It was formally moved by Councillor Jack Scott, and formally seconded by Councillor Mike Drabble, that this Council:-

(a)       notes with concern and alarm that child poverty has worsened in recent years and believes that the new changes to Child Tax Credit will make this situation worse; and further believes that levels of child poverty in this country are a disgrace and it should be seen that a central task of any Government should be to help prevent, reduce and eradicate child poverty;

(b)       believes that the Government is in neglect of its duties by changing the Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit provision to two children per family; and notes that the changes were introduced as part of the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016, despite Parliamentary opposition from the Labour Party, citing in particular the lack of an equality impact assessment for any changes;

(c)        notes that Child Poverty Action Group have raised concerns that this change will push more children and families into poverty, and that the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has published a report which suggests that the two child limit could push 200,000 children into poverty;

(d)       highlights in particular the appalling so-called ‘rape clause’; which requires a mother seeking benefits for a third child to prove she has been sexually assaulted or that the child was conceived through abuse or within an abusive relationship;

(e)       endorses entirely the view of the Fawcett Society, which has stated: "Women have been consistently and repeatedly hit hardest by austerity measures and tax and benefit changes. Child poverty is rising. The new two child limit in the Tax Credit system will see another 200,000 children pushed into poverty, and the disgraceful ‘rape clause’ that accompanies it pushes women into disclosing sexual violence in order to obtain financial support.";

(f)        believes that the so-called ‘rape clause’ forces women into a horrifying ordeal; having to recount their sexual abuse via an eight-page document in order to prove that their abuse is worthy of government support, clearly showing how badly conceived the policy is;

(g)       believes that rather than making suffering victims and survivors go through this ordeal, the policy should be entirely scrapped as it is extremely damaging to survivors of abuse and will lead to a greater number of children in child poverty; and

(h)       calls upon the Government to immediately reverse, what this Council believes to be, this disastrous, unfair and spiteful policy and directs that a copy of this Motion be submitted to the Prime Minister and Sheffield's Members of Parliament.

18.2

Whereupon, it was formally moved by Councillor Joe Otten, and formally seconded by Councillor Sue Auckland, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.         the deletion of the following words at the end of paragraph (b) – “despite Parliamentary opposition from the Labour Party, citing in particular the lack of an equality impact assessment for any changes”;

2.         the addition of new paragraphs (c) and (d) as follows:-

(c)        is therefore disappointed that, despite this rhetoric, analysis by the Resolution Foundation found that the 2017 Labour Party manifesto pledges to press ahead with £7bn of the £9bn of welfare cuts proposed by former Chancellor, the Rt. Hon George Osborne, and that the £2bn that had been allocated would reverse less than half of the cuts to child benefit and Universal Credit;

(d)       recalls that in July 2015, the then acting leader of the Labour Party, the Rt. Hon Harriet Harman MP, instructed Labour MPs to abstain on the Welfare Reform and Work Bill at its second reading rather than join SNP, Liberal Democrat and Green MPs in voting against the Bill;

3.         the re-lettering of original paragraphs (c) to (h) as new paragraphs (e) to (j).

18.3

On being put to the vote, the amendment was negatived.

18.4

The original Motion was then put to the vote and carried as follows:-

RESOLVED: That this Council:-

(a)       notes with concern and alarm that child poverty has worsened in recent years and believes that the new changes to Child Tax Credit will make this situation worse; and further believes that levels of child poverty in this country are a disgrace and it should be seen that a central task of any Government should be to help prevent, reduce and eradicate child poverty;

(b)       believes that the Government is in neglect of its duties by changing the Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit provision to two children per family; and notes that the changes were introduced as part of the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016, despite Parliamentary opposition from the Labour Party, citing in particular the lack of an equality impact assessment for any changes;

(c)        notes that Child Poverty Action Group have raised concerns that this change will push more children and families into poverty, and that the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has published a report which suggests that the two child limit could push 200,000 children into poverty;

(d)       highlights in particular the appalling so-called ‘rape clause’; which requires a mother seeking benefits for a third child to prove she has been sexually assaulted or that the child was conceived through abuse or within an abusive relationship;

(e)       endorses entirely the view of the Fawcett Society, which has stated: "Women have been consistently and repeatedly hit hardest by austerity measures and tax and benefit changes. Child poverty is rising. The new two child limit in the Tax Credit system will see another 200,000 children pushed into poverty, and the disgraceful ‘rape clause’ that accompanies it pushes women into disclosing sexual violence in order to obtain financial support.";

(f)        believes that the so-called ‘rape clause’ forces women into a horrifying ordeal; having to recount their sexual abuse via an eight-page document in order to prove that their abuse is worthy of government support, clearly showing how badly conceived the policy is;

(g)       believes that rather than making suffering victims and survivors go through this ordeal, the policy should be entirely scrapped as it is extremely damaging to survivors of abuse and will lead to a greater number of children in child poverty; and

(h)       calls upon the Government to immediately reverse, what this Council believes to be, this disastrous, unfair and spiteful policy and directs that a copy of this Motion be submitted to the Prime Minister and Sheffield's Members of Parliament.

18.4.1

(NOTE: 1. Councillors Andy Nash, Bob Pullin, Richard Shaw, Adam Hanrahan, Joe Otten, Colin Ross, Pauline Andrews, Roger Davison, Shaffaq Mohammed, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Cliff Woodcraft, Ian Auckland, Sue Auckland, Steve Ayris, Gail Smith, David Baker, Penny Baker, Vickie Priestley, Jack Clarkson, Keith Davis and John Booker voted for paragraphs (a) and (c) to (h) of the Motion, and voted against paragraph (b) of the Motion, and asked for this to be recorded; and

2. The Deputy Lord Mayor (Councillor Magid Magid) and Councillors Douglas Johnson, Robert Murphy and Alison Teal voted for paragraphs (a) and (c) to (h) of the Motion, and abstained from voting on paragraph (b) of the Motion, and asked for this to be recorded.)