Benefits and pensions rise as two-child cap ends

Benefits and pensions rise as two-child cap endsJust nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleKevin Peachey,Cost of living correspondentandColletta Smith,BBC Your Voice correspondentGetty ImagesA host of benefits and the state pension are rising as the new financial year begins, including more money for larger families on universal credit.The two-child benefit cap has now been scrapped, meaning some 480,000 families with three or more children will get an average rise of £4,100 a year.One mum told the BBC the rise was a "massive help" in dealing with the rising cost of living, while charities have described the move as a "gamechanger".But some critics have suggested the government could spend the money better elsewhere.For the past nine years, parents have only been able to claim universal credit or tax credits for their first two children, a policy that is estimated to have saved the Treasury about £3.6bn a year.Tracey Morris, from Huddersfield, is a single mum with five children aged between six and 19. The youngest two, Luna and Harlie, were born after the cap was introduced.Like 59% of families who will now receive more, she is working - in her case, full-time for the local council and doing occasional extra shifts at a pub to top-up her income."I've always had to be careful what I spend and how I spend it. The cost of living got so high, it's a struggle," she said.Tracey says the change is a massive reliefShe depends on her local food pantry The Bread and Butter Thing to ensure she is able to buy basic groceries."It's so draining. I'm exhausted worrying about money all the time. As a mum, sometimes you feel like you're failing, but I'm not failing, it's just the situation, unfortunately, that we are in," she said.Many bills have risen at the start of April, but Tracey will now receive just under £300 extra each month for each of three children.The child element of universal credit will auto...