Recent data has shown that Tower Hamlets has the highest rate of child poverty out of all the London boroughs – with 48% of children growing up in poverty.  

The statistics come from an analysis by Loughborough University, commissioned by the End Child Poverty coalition, which found that an overall third of children in London are growing up in poverty.  

Tower Hamlets has one of the highest child poverty rates in the country, with nearly half of children growing up in poverty. In London, Hackney has the third highest rate of child poverty at 43%, while 33% of children in Lewisham and 31% of children in Croydon are growing up in poverty. 

While high housing costs in the capital play a significant factor in the staggering figures, Rachel Walters, Coordinator of the End Child Poverty organisation, told EastLondonLines that one of the biggest drivers of child poverty is the two-child benefit cap. 

The Conservative Government introduced the two-child limit in 2017, which restricts Universal Credit and tax credit support to two children per family. In 2023/24, this costs families up to £3,235 per child each year. 

“It doesn’t sound like heaps, but at the same time, it can make a huge difference to families… it’s how families can afford coats or shoes or the right uniform to make sure their children are able to go to school and to thrive as well,” she said. 

In Poplar and Limehouse, 18% of children and families are impacted by the two-child benefit cap.  

“When you have a high proportion of children who are impacted by the [two-child limit] policy, you’re also very likely to have a high level of child poverty. 

“Scrapping the two-child limit to benefit payments will have a huge impact for families not just in Tower Hamlets but across the country,” Walter told ELL. 

There was increased pressure on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to scrap the two-child limit to benefits in the lead up to the government’s 2025/26 budget. But the policy, which was released on Wednesday October 30, has remained.  

Becca Lyon, head of UK child poverty for Save the Children UK, said: “This Budget is the start of more ambitious support after rising child poverty rates, so we welcome investment in breakfast clubs, SEND provision and reducing debt repayments for families on Universal Credit. Yet it was a mistake not to scrap the cruel two-child benefit limit despite widespread calls to end this outdated policy.  

“That means 1.6 million children in larger families will still be suffering the consequences of less money for food, clothes, toys and books. 

"The UK Government's ongoing Child Poverty Strategy gives us hope for the future, but there are measures that should be introduced immediately to give children and young people the opportunities they deserve. Securing child-related benefits - similar to the pensions triple lock - scrapping the two-child limit and benefits cap should be introduced now." 

The government introduced a child poverty taskforce this summer, which will publish a strategy in spring 2025 to combat child poverty rates nationwide. 

Walters said: “There’s been a lot of talk about pushing families into work and making sure families have jobs which are suitable, but what it fails to understand is that the majority of families impacted by the two-child limit policy are already working families. 

“These are people who are really trying and working and doing everything that society asks and are still unable to escape the cycle of poverty. 

“Parents cannot work themselves out of poverty.”