Keir Starmer breaks silence on plans for major child benefit change

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has broken his silence on plans for a major shakeup to child benefit.

The Labour Prime Ministerrevealed his government will aim to drive down child poverty in the country. Speaking to the Mirror during the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, he said: "There's a taskforce that is going to report in due course, but I don't think I can be clearer that we're going to bring child poverty down."

He pointed to the government's rollout of free breakfast clubsin primary schools and expanding eligibility for free school meals, a cause championed by The Mirror.

When he was asked if he would view it as a personal failure if child poverty wasn't falling by the next election, he replied: "I am personally determined to see child poverty come now.

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"I was very proud that that's what happened under last Labour government, and I'm absolutely determined it's going to happen under my leadership under this Labour government. So yes, this is government policy, but it's also personal to me to bring child poverty down."

His comments came before Chancellor Rachel Reeves tables several options to replace the Tory-era austerity policy blamed for trapping children in poverty. The government did stress no decision had been taken with the child poverty taskforce set up by Keir Starmer.

One government source previously told The Mirror: "No decisions have been made. Work on the child poverty strategy is ongoing." Reports had suggested the two-child benefit limit, which restricts Child Tax Credits and Universal Credits and Universal Credit to the first two children in the family, could be replaced.

The Treasury is said to be examining if the two-child benefit limit could be made less severe by giving additional benefits to families with two or more children. When pressed on the two-child benefit limit, the Prime Minister told The Mirror on Tuesday: "There's a taskforce that is going to report in due course, but I don't think I can be clearer that we're going to bring child poverty down."

When asked about reports about whether she would scrap the cap, Reeves said: "Keir said in his speech today that we will reduce child poverty in this Parliament, but we will set out the policies in the Budget. I think we've been pretty clear this week that we can't commit to policies without us explaining where the money is coming from."

Lord Jason Bird, the Big Issue founder and crossbench peer, welcomed reports and said the policy had punished millions of children.