The UK Government has scrapped the controversial two-child benefits limit from April 2026, at a cost of £3 billion by the end of this Parliament. The move will lift an estimated 450,000 children out of poverty by 2029/30, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.
The confirmation came from the OBR, which unusually published its economic and fiscal document before Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her Budget on Wednesday. The Government had faced mounting pressure from anti-poverty campaigners and many Labour MPs to end the policy introduced under the Conservatives.
The two-child limit – first announced in 2015 and implemented in 2017 – restricts child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households. Organisations working in the sector argue 109 children across the UK are pulled into poverty by the policy every day.
The OBR said the removal will cost £2.3 billion in 2026-27 and £3 billion in 2029-30. The Government estimates the change will reduce child poverty by 450,000 by 2029-30 relative to the level had the two-child limit remained in place.
Major step welcomed
Organisations which have long campaigned for the cap's removal immediately welcomed the decision. Unicef UK called it a "major, necessary decision to tackle record levels of child poverty in the UK", adding: "No child should be punished for the number of siblings they have."
Helen Barnard, director of policy at foodbank network Trussell, described it as a "bold step which will protect hundreds of thousands of children from growing up facing hunger and hardship". She said the Chancellor had "listened to the families and foodbanks across the UK who have been imploring her to act".
Action for Children said the move "marks a turning point for struggling families" and is "long overdue and a vital first step towards ending child poverty".
The Government has previously said it will publish its wider child poverty strategy this autumn, having been delayed from an initial deadline of spring. The latest data, published earlier this year, estimated the number of children living in poverty in the UK reached a record high of 4.45 million children in the year to March 2024.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
