First, the good news. The Conservative government’s cruel decision almost a decade ago to limit some benefit entitlements to the first two children in a family is being scrapped.

The change will have a particularly big impact in Northern Ireland, where around one in five families have more than two children.

Campaigners say it could be transformative in tackling rising levels of child poverty. In fact, in a single budget announcement, the Labour government has probably achieved more than the entire contents of Stormont’s widely-criticised anti-poverty strategy.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves also said the Northern Ireland Executive would be given an additional £370m in block funding over the next three to four years.

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