Rachel Reeves to lift two-child benefit cap in November's budget

"But officials are said to be wary of the escalating costs for extremely large families those with more than six children may be entitled to thousands of pounds more in benefits if the cap is lifted completely. Instead, the Treasury is exploring whether the additional benefits might instead be limited to three or four children or whether there could be a taper rate introduced so parents would get the most for their first child and less for subsequent children."

"The chancellor and Keir Starmer have both said they expect to respond to recommendations of the child poverty taskforce at the budget, which is expected to say that lifting the two-child limit for universal credit and child tax credit would be one of the most effective ways to lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty."

Rachel Reeves plans to lift the two-child benefit limit in the upcoming budget. Officials are exploring a tapered system to limit escalating costs for extremely large families. Complete removal could entitle families with more than six children to thousands of pounds more in benefits. Options include limiting additional support to three or four children, introducing a taper so payments decline for each subsequent child, or lifting the cap only for working parents on universal credit to encourage employment. The child poverty taskforce recommends lifting the cap as an effective way to lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty. Partial measures risk criticism from campaigners.

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