UK ends two-child benefit cap

A major shift in UK welfare policy takes effect as the two-child cap on benefits is formally abolished, a move expected to lift an estimated 450,000 children out of poverty.

Introduced by the Conservatives in 2017, the measure limited child tax credit and universal credit payments to the first two children in most households.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed in her November budget that the cap would be removed on 6 April, following months of sustained pressure from Labour backbenchers.

The end of the two-child cap comes alongside a broader package of UK government measures designed to ease the strain of higher living costs.

The state pension is also increasing, in a change the government says could be worth as much as £575 a year for a new claimant.

Housing benefit and personal independence payments are among the other benefits being uprated as part of the changes.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said scrapping the cap showed the government was putting benefits claimants ahead of working people.

Mrs Badenoch said: “While working people struggle with rising fuel costs and food prices, Keir Starmer is giving another handout to those on benefits.

“The Conservatives believe in fairness and that those on welfare should have to make the same choices about their family as those who aren’t.

“That’s why we would reinstate the two-child cap and use the savings to bolster our armed forces.

“In an increasingly dangerous world, we have to prioritise, and my plans will ensure a stronger economy and a stronger country.”

Human rights groups including Amnesty International said the government should go further if it wants to make a meaningful dent in poverty across the UK.

Jen Clark, Amnesty International UK’s economic, cultural and social rights lead, said: “However welcome the lifting of the two-child limit is, it fails to go far enough to help the vast majority of children living in poverty in the UK.

“The government urgently needs to make changes to the social security system to make it fairer, particularly given the growing cost-of-living crisis.

“This includes removing the benefit cap and scrapping the devastating system of sanctions.

“For decades, these policies have kept those most in need in poverty, forcing parents to choose between putting food on the table and turning the heating on.”