The Board of Deputies has warned that the government's welfare reforms could push families into poverty.

Strictly Orthodox groups say that the proposal to limit child tax credit to only two children from 2017 would leave many families destitute.

In a statement on Wednesday, Board of Deputies president Jonathan Arkush said that "strictly Orthodox family life is often characterised by large families, which forms an integral part of their Jewish identity. Penalising children because of their family size will only serve to push these families into debt and poverty."

He added: "We feel strongly that the implementation of the Welfare Bill has not properly considered the potential impact it will stand to have on those families wishing to have more than two children."

According to the Charedi charity Interlink, the cap on child tax credit would "mean destitution for thousands of families". It quoted Michael Posen, head of another Orthodox agency, the Agudas Israel Community Services, who said that "many families will be completely unable to manage".

The bill, which proposes cuts in welfare spending of £12 billion, was passed in the House of Commons on Monday.

Four Labour MPs who serve constituencies with large Charedi populations were among those who voted against the bill in defiance of calls from Labour leaders to abstain.

They were David Lammy (Tottenham), Diane Abbott (Hackney), Ian Mearns (Gateshead) and Graham Stringer (Salford).

● The Board has held elections to its four divisional committees, with more women and young people claiming seats than ever before.

Out of the 64 deputies elected 23 were female and nine delegates were in their 20s. The committees cover defence, international relations, community issues and finance.