Larger families across Plymouth are facing heightened financial, social and mental health pressures as a result of the two-child benefit cap, according to new research.
A study by Citizens Advice Plymouth and the University of Plymouth explored the impact of the policy - introduced in April 2017 - on families with more than two children.
Under the policy, the eligibility of families to claim certain elements of Universal Credit or Child Tax Credit was restricted to two children per household.
Figures suggest more than 1,600 families in the Plymouth area have been impacted by the policy, receiving around £3,500 less each year in credit per child, at a time of significant price increases affecting household goods and services.
For the new report, researchers interviewed eight adults impacted by the two-child policy in Plymouth, to gauge their personal feeling about the impact it was having on their daily lives.
In addition to the financial impacts, the interviews highlighted that families affected by the policy change were living with increased stress and anxiety and were more likely to drop social activities, which was further impacting their mental health.
Those spoken to by the researchers also felt the policy hadn't achieved its stated key aim - of incentivising people receiving benefits to return to work - as they were either already working, or had long-term health conditions that prevented them from doing so.
Based on their findings, the researchers have suggested that changes in circumstances out of their control are having a detrimental on thousands of people in the Plymouth area, and "systematically pushing large families living in Plymouth into deprivation".
As a result, they have called on the Government to abolish the Two-Child Limit Policy to avoid it having negative impacts on both adults and children now and in the future.
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