Autumn Budget 2025: A step in the right direction

Chris Hartley explains why The Salvation Army welcomes the government’s commitment to end the two-child benefit cap.

As Christmas approaches, we are reminded of the profound message at the heart of this important time. God so loved the world that he sent his only son down to us so we would know his love, especially those isolated or excluded by society. God’s love came down to us.

This message is not just a story from the past – it’s the foundation of our mission today. We are called to raise up people who have been left behind, whether they are struggling with addiction, homelessness, isolation, exploitation or debt and poverty.

Our mission is to be the outstretched hand of hope, living out Jesus’ message of compassion in the everyday world. Love isn’t just a feeling, it’s an action – it drives us to be the change the world needs, to reach out our hands with love to others.

The story of Christmas centres on a child born in humble circumstances, his parents forced to take shelter in a stable. This is particularly poignant when we consider that, today in the UK, one of the world’s wealthiest nations, there are still children who go without food, warmth or a place to call home.

Government figures estimate that 7.9 million families with children are living in poverty. We know that the consequences of this are devastating. Children growing up in poverty are more likely to be excluded from school, face involvement with the criminal justice system, become isolated and disengaged, and have a shorter life expectancy. This is not only a moral failing but, by any measure, an unacceptable reality.

One of the leading drivers of child poverty has been the two-child benefit limit. This policy restricted means-tested benefits to the first two children in a family, and now affects one in every nine children. According to the Child Poverty Action Group, more than 100 children are being pushed into poverty every day because of this limit.

The Salvation Army has long called for the abolition of this policy, as it unjustly punishes children simply for being born. As such, we welcomed the government’s commitment in its Budget to end the two-child benefit limit from April 2026. 

For too long, this policy has pushed children into poverty and hardship. The steps laid out in the Budget are positive, but they are only the beginning, as long as parents are forced to choose between heating their homes and feeding their children, or between working and affording childcare, or are isolated from their loved ones and their community.

The Salvation Army will continue to remember the child born in a humble stable at Christmastime and the love that came down for all of us. We will continue to live out Jesus’ message of love by championing the people that society excludes. You can help by adding your name to our petition urging the government to ensure the welfare system protects families with children from living in poverty. Sign it at tsa.link/poverty-petition.

The commitments made in the Budget are a step in the right direction, but there is still much more to be done.

Reflect and respond

• Reflect on the name Immanuel, God with us. How can you show God’s love by standing with others?
• Read Luke 4:18 and 19. As well as proclaiming the good news of Jesus, how can you help ‘set the oppressed free’? Do you think that is separate from, or part of, sharing the good news?
• Sign the petition to help protect families with children from living in poverty at tsa.link/poverty-petition.