THE Bishop of Colchester says he is “heartbroken” over a failure to eliminate child poverty in Britain and has called on the government to improve the benefits system “as a matter of justice.”

The Rt Rev Roger Morris accused successive Conservative governments of failing to halt a rise in child poverty over the past five years.

He blamed austerity cuts, starting in 2015, for halting the progress made to tackle the problem under the Child Poverty Act of 2010.

“This was the year in which all this work was to reach its climax,” he said.

“You look at graphs from back then and they will show the reduction in child poverty.

“We were on target. We were going to do this. But then austerity hit.”

He added: “Despite our current Prime Minister falsely claiming child poverty has fallen, the reality is the number of children in poverty has risen by 600,000 since 2010.

“4.2 million youngsters in the UK – or 30 per cent – are existing below the poverty line.

“The government’s own social mobility commission is now forecasting a further huge rise to 5.2 million children in poverty by 2022.”

The Rt Rev Morris said “we are still waiting” for a strategy to address rising child poverty and suggested changes to the benefits system.

He called on the government to scrap the Universal Credit benefit cap and two-child limit – which he said “makes no sense.”

“More and more people will be in receipt of Universal Credit, but they will soon discover that there is no support in Universal Credit for a third or fourth child if that child is less than 3 and a half years old,” he said.

“In the same way, the benefit cap – which limits the total amount of benefits per household – has no place during this current crisis.”

He also called for an increase in children’s benefits of at least £10 per week and said the eligibility criteria for free school meals should be expanded.

“£10 a week should also be added to the Universal Credit child element and child tax credit, just to give that extra boost to those families on the very lowest incomes,” he said.

The Bishop, a patron of Colchester Foodbank, made the comments at the charity’s annual general meeting on Wednesday.

He said: “These three things are not going to bring an end to child poverty, but they will provide a lifeline for those most in need.

“Just as this Godsend of an organisation - Colchester Foodbank - provides a lifeline for those who have come to an end of themselves.”

He added: “I dream of a day when foodbank collection points don’t appear on Supermarket Sweep as if this is now a permanent feature in all supermarkets.

“I dream of a day when those who have much do not have too much, and those who have little do not have too little.

“I dream of a day when we finally break the cycle of disadvantage so that children born into poverty are not condemned to social exclusion and deprivation.

“I dream of a day when child poverty is ended.

“I am heartbroken that in 2020, we failed to see that day arrive.”

Colchester MP Will Quince, minister for welfare delivery, said the government is committed to eradicating child poverty.

“There are 100,000 fewer children living in absolute poverty than in 2010,” he said.

“Universal Credit provides vital support for over 5.6 million people and in the past few months alone we have increased the amount claimants receive by £20 a week and paid out more than one million advances.

“It is my priority to make sure the people of Colchester and across the UK who most need help are supported through these difficult times.

“The benefit cap provides fairness to those in work, and by incentivising work it makes sure it really does pay to be in employment.

“Households on Universal Credit are exempt from the benefit cap when they have monthly earnings of at least £604.”

The department for work and pensions pointed out the government had introduced “lifelines”, including income protection schemes, mortgage holidays and additional support for renters.

It added it would be “unsustainable” for benefits to automatically increase with family size.