Historic legislation to end the two-child limit has become law, putting 450,000 children on a pathway out of poverty in the final year of this Parliament.
Historic legislation to end the two-child limit has become law, putting 450,000 children on a pathway out of poverty in the final year of this Parliament.
Since its introduction in 2017, the two-child limit has been the biggest single driver of child poverty and today, 2.6 million children in the UK don’t have enough food at home, over 172,000 have no permanent home, and babies born in the poorest areas are twice as likely to die before their first birthday.
The policy’s removal is the single most cost-effective measure available to the Government to drive down poverty rates. Up to 1.5 million children across Great Britain could be helped by the change, representing the most significant action to tackle child poverty since comparable records began.
This will predominantly help working families — around sixty per cent of households affected by the two-child limit have a parent in work, and nearly half were not on Universal Credit when any of their children were born.
Removing the two-child limit sits at the heart of the Child Poverty Strategy which brings together action across government to increase family incomes, cut the cost of essentials and strengthen local services. Alongside measures such as expanding free school meals, extending childcare support, and supporting parents in work, the strategy is set to lift 550,000 children out of poverty in the final year of this parliament.
Today is an historic day, marking a turning point for 450,000 children across Britain.
Scrapping the two-child limit is about more than family finances today, it’s about the Britain we’re building for tomorrow.
Children growing up in poverty are far more likely to leave school without qualifications and end up not in work or education as young adults, and we’re determined to break that cycle once and for all and give every child the best start in life.
Children in the poorest areas are four times more likely to have mental health problems, twice as likely to suffer from obesity and tooth decay, and disadvantaged pupils are twice as likely to be persistently absent from school — with hunger and unsuitable housing making it harder to come to school ready to learn.
These early disadvantages have lasting consequences: children growing up in poverty are more likely to leave school without good GCSEs, less likely to find work, and go on to earn around 50% less by the age of 40 than their better-off peers, making early action both a moral imperative and sound economic policy.
For too long, the two-child limit has held children back through no fault of their own.
With the law now changed, hundreds of thousands of children will grow up with greater security and opportunity.
We’re determined to break the link between a child’s background and their life chances and today brings us a step closer to that goal.
The change removes the existing restriction in Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit that limited support to a family’s first two children. It takes effect from 6 April 2026, with families already claiming Universal Credit seeing the update applied automatically with no action needed.
This comes as the government continues to take wider action to help families by driving down the cost of living with measures including increasing the National Living Wage, cutting an average £150 from household energy bills and freezing rail and prescription charges.
Today marks a landmark moment. With Royal Assent granted to scrap the two‑child limit, hundreds of thousands of children will finally get the fair chance they deserve. This is one of the most powerful actions the UK can take to lift children out of poverty, and it will transform lives for years to come.
Action on child poverty doesn’t just support families today - it strengthens our communities and our economy. Investing in families gives every child the chance to grow up safe, healthy and hopeful about their futures.
This is a landmark investment in children across the UK. For the past nine years, there has effectively been a cap on childhood as the two-child limit to benefits kept families poor and robbed children in larger families of the same opportunities as their peers.
With the two-child limit to benefits abolished, there is now more of a chance that incomes will match the real cost of raising a family, as well better health outcomes for children, educational attainment and long-term job prospects. This investment in childhood today will have a positive impact for generations to come.
Gingerbread has campaigned long and hard for the two-child limit to be scrapped. It pushed children into poverty and unfairly punished single parents.
We need to see single parents and their children supported not punished. Removing the two child limit is the right thing for our government to do and we welcome this step.
The abolition of the two-child limit by parliament is an important and welcome first step in driving down child poverty. It will give millions of children across the UK a better today and brighter tomorrow.
Protecting children from poverty is the right thing to do and lays the foundations for a stronger country for us all.
Ending the two-child limit will change lives.
For years, this policy has pushed hundreds of thousands of children into poverty through no fault of their own.
Lifting it is a bold and important step that will make a real difference to families across the country.
This is a most significant moment in the fight against child poverty.
Thanks to this piece of legislation, hundreds of thousands of children will be both lifted free from the clutches of hunger and destitution and also enabled to fulfil their potential at school.