Mary Kelly Foy says: “This was a Budget with a very big win”

I’m pleased to see that the Government has made the decision to freeze rail fares for the first time in 30 years. Alongside this, the National Living Wage and the Minimum Wage have been increased helping out those people most squeezed by the cost of living, and the Government will transfer the £2.3bn reserve of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme to the members, giving them a 41 per cent bonus on their guaranteed pensions.

I’m also pleased to see the Government make a tentative step towards wealth taxation, with the High Value Council Tax Surcharge increasing tax on properties valued at over £2m. And of course, the Remote Gaming Duty, which will tax UK earnings of online casinos and slots, wherever the company is based.

And there’s good news for the NHS once again, with the announcement of 250 new neighbourhood health centres, bringing together services such as GPs, pharmacists and dentistry under one roof.

Personally, I pushed for more support for the hospitality industry, perhaps with a cut to their VAT. This is something I will keep working on. I was also disappointed to see that the Energy Company Obligation Scheme will be cut, and I’m worried that this will potentially have an impact on our ability to deal with fuel poverty.

But, of course, one of the major talking points is that from April, the Government will scrap the two-child benefit cap.

After years of campaigning, I wholeheartedly welcomed this announcement. I have said many times that poverty is one of the biggest blights on our society, especially in the North East. This one policy change will do a huge amount to alleviate that issue.

This policy was originally brought in by the Tories to try and curb government spending. It was thought it would limit the number of children people would have and thereby drive down costs.

The evidence is clear though that this had no effect in reducing family size. And besides, don’t we all know someone who unexpectedly lost their job? Or fell ill and couldn’t work? For families with more than two children already, they are being further penalised for their misfortune.

In fact, estimates show that keeping this policy costs more than removing it. The Child Poverty Action Group estimates that removing the cap will cost between £3bn and £4bn annually. But the price of children growing up in poverty – ongoing NHS costs, greater risk of unemployment, and increased chances of criminal justice involvement for instance – are thought to cost the country in the region of £39bn a year.

So not only is this the moral thing to do, it’s the economically responsible thing to do.

This Budget does a lot, but there is always more to do. We must keep focussed on the cost of living and getting our economy going. But thanks to this Budget nearly 500,000 children will be lifted out of poverty. I call that a win.