What is the two child benefit cap?
The two-child benefit cap, or two-child limit, restricted the child element of Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit to a family's first two children. It applied to children born from April 2017. It was abolished from 6 April 2026, so families now get support for every child.
The limit was announced in 2015 as part of plans to cut welfare spending. Supporters said families on benefits should face the same choices as working families. There were exceptions, such as multiple births and children born after rape, which proved controversial. It was introduced alongside other welfare cuts, such as freezes to working-age benefits. Families with three or more children born after April 2017 received no extra child element for them.
Over time, the number of families affected grew as more children were born after 2017. Charities and many economists called it the biggest single driver of rising child poverty. The child element is worth several thousand pounds a year for each child. Before it ended, around 1.5 million children lived in families affected by the limit.
The law ending the limit received Royal Assent on 18 March 2026. It took effect on 6 April 2026, and families already claiming had it applied automatically. The government estimates the change will lift 450,000 children out of poverty by the end of the Parliament. It should not be confused with the separate benefit cap, which limits total benefits a household can receive.
- Pays the state pension
- Runs Universal Credit
- Pays disability benefits such as PIP
- Runs Jobcentres and employment support
- Sets child maintenance and health and safety policy
Budget: About £300bn a year, mostly benefits and pensions. Staff: About 90,000
What it runs or funds
Jobcentre Plus, Child Maintenance Service, Health and Safety Executive, The Pensions Regulator, Money and Pensions Service
Did you know? The state pension is the single biggest benefit, costing well over £100bn a year.
The left campaigned to scrap the limit, arguing it punished children for their family size and drove up child poverty.
Much of the right supported the limit as fair to working families and a way to control welfare costs, and opposed scrapping it.
Britain is split. Now you decide.
Run the welfare budget in Population Decides and decide how generous to be to families, balancing child poverty against the cost.
Play Population Decides freeCommon questions
Has the two-child limit been scrapped?
Yes. It was abolished from 6 April 2026 for Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit.
Is the two-child limit the same as the benefit cap?
No. The benefit cap is a separate limit on the total benefits a working-age household can get.
When did the two-child limit start?
It applied to children born on or after 6 April 2017.
What makes the DWP stand out among government departments?
It spends more money than any other department. The DWP spends more than any other department, mostly on benefits and pensions.
Which is the single biggest benefit?
The state pension. The state pension is the biggest, costing well over £100bn a year.