A two child limit and rape clause for tax credits came into force today, which a campaigning MP says will unleash untold chaos and poverty for 'just about managing families' and rape survivors.
In July 2015, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, announced in his summer budget plans to slash child tax credit payments to just two children per family and implement a 'non-consensual sex exemption', dubbed the rape clause.
The new policy, which came into force at midnight last night, requires tax credit claimants, whose third or subsequent child was conceived as a result of rape, to prove this to social workers and health professionals in order to qualify for the exemption.
Faith leaders, women's welfare groups, trade unions and child poverty campaigners have all condemned the policy, with many sexual violence support charities refusing to act as third party verifiers for the Government.
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