Labour Scraps Two-Child Benefit Cap, 2,000 Large Families Receive Significant Annual Increase
Official data reveals over 2,000 households with eight or more children are now receiving an additional £21,800 annually after the UK government removed a key restriction on child benefits.
More than 2,000 families in the United Kingdom with eight or more children are now receiving an additional £21,800 per year following the Labour government's decision to eliminate the two-child benefit cap. Official data from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) indicates that 2,200 households on Universal Credit had a child element for eight or more children shortly after the cap was removed.
These households are now projected to receive an extra £21,884 annually. The two-child benefit cap, in effect since 2017, previously limited claims for Universal Credit or child tax credit to the first two children.
The cap was abolished by former prime minister Keir Starmer prior to his resignation, a move he later cited as a proud achievement. However, the decision has drawn criticism for an estimated annual increase of £3 billion to the nation's benefits expenditure, potentially straining public finances.
Further DWP figures, obtained through a Freedom of Information request, also revealed that in May of this year, 17,290 households on Universal Credit had a child element for six or more children. These families stand to gain approximately £14,589 annually, with an increase of £303.94 per child per month.
In response to the policy change, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch reiterated her party's commitment to reinstating the two-child benefit cap to fund increased defense spending. She stated that individuals receiving benefits should face the same considerations about having children as those who do not.
Helen Whately, the Conservatives' shadow work and pensions secretary, criticized the policy, arguing that it provides significant financial increases for large families on benefits, which is funded by taxpayers. She asserted that this is unfair to working families and that the Conservatives would reintroduce the cap if elected.
A DWP spokesperson highlighted that nearly 60 percent of households benefiting from the removal of the cap have at least one parent in employment. The spokesperson also emphasized the policy's role in providing financial relief to working families and lifting an estimated 450,000 children out of poverty by the end of the current parliamentary term, noting the correlation between childhood poverty and long-term educational and employment outcomes.