I have seen the extent of child poverty in the UK and I say this: the two-child benefit cap must go | Stephen Cottrell

A recent visit to Middlesbrough brought home the depth of deprivation and the urgency of taking action now

Stephen Cottrell is the archbishop of York and primate of England

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ith all children across the UK back in school as of this week, I am reminded that almost one in three are in poverty. That statistic is shocking enough – but behind every number is a child, and what this statistic means is children arriving at school hungry, living in insecure housing, and missing out on the activities that help them thrive.

I visited a school in the north-east of England a couple of years ago where many of the pupils turned up with empty lunchboxes. There was a breakfast club that fed them on arrival. They were eligible for free school meals, so got a hot lunch. After school, trestle tables were set up in the playground laden with food donated from the local food bank. As they went home, they filled up their lunchboxes so that they could have some tea.