WELFARE reforms are needed to tackle child poverty, England’s Children’s Commissioner said today as research found that parents’ stresses about the cost of living are at the forefront of children’s minds.

Dame Rachel de Souza’s report argues that the two-child cap for receiving child tax credit or universal credit means children in larger families are more likely to experience financial difficulties and that “children should not be penalised or plunged into poverty because of the choices of their parents.”

The commissioner’s calls include for the existing base rate for universal credit to be reviewed and for all eligible children to be auto-enrolled for free school meals.