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  "path": "/money/dwp-two-child-limit-scrapped-children-poverty",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-19T15:43:33.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Universal Credit: April increase sees payments rise by inflation-busting £295 a year for millions",
    "PIP claims hit record high as numbers rise by 233,000 in a year",
    "DWP confirms plan to offer employers £3,000 to hire young workers in £1bn youth jobs drive",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nLegislation to abolish the two-child benefit cap has received Royal Assent, marking the end of a policy that has restricted welfare support for larger families since 2017.\n\nThe Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit Act) will come into force on April 6, 2026, removing the rule that capped benefit payments at a family’s first two children.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nUnder the previous system, families claiming Universal Credit or Child Tax Credit received no additional support for third or subsequent children born after April 2017.\n\nThe Government has described the measure as the most cost-effective intervention available to reduce poverty rates.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHouseholds already receiving Universal Credit will have the change applied automatically without needing to take any action.\n\nGovernment estimates indicate that 450,000 children will be moved out of poverty before the end of this parliamentary term, representing the largest single-year reduction since comparable records began in the 1990s.\n\nThe policy change could benefit as many as 1.5 million children across Great Britain.\n\nWorking households are expected to see the greatest impact, with around 60 per cent of families affected by the cap having at least one parent in employment.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nNearly half of those impacted were not claiming Universal Credit when their children were born.\n\nThe legislation forms a central part of the Child Poverty Strategy published in December 2025, which combines the reform with expanded free school meals and enhanced childcare provision to lift an estimated 550,000 children out of poverty.\n\nPensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: \"Today is an historic day, marking a turning point for 450,000 children across Britain.\"\n\nHe added: \"Scrapping the two-child limit is about more than family finances today, it's about the Britain we're building for tomorrow.\"\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Universal Credit: April increase sees payments rise by inflation-busting £295 a year for millions\n  * PIP claims hit record high as numbers rise by 233,000 in a year\n  * DWP confirms plan to offer employers £3,000 to hire young workers in £1bn youth jobs drive\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nMr McFadden also said children raised in poverty are more likely to leave education without qualifications and less likely to secure employment.\n\nEmployment Minister Diana Johnson said: \"For too long, the two-child limit has held children back through no fault of their own.\"\n\nShe added: \"With the law now changed, hundreds of thousands of children will grow up with greater security and opportunity.\"\n\nPhilip Goodwin, chief executive of UNICEF UK, said: \"This is a landmark moment.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHe added: \"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.\"\n\nDan Paskins, executive director of UK impact at Save the Children UK, also said: \"There is now more of a chance that incomes will match the real cost of raising a family.\"\n\nSara Ogilvie, director of policy, rights and advocacy at Child Poverty Action Group, added: \"The abolition of the two-child limit by Parliament is an important and welcome first step in driving down child poverty.\"\n\nShe continued: \"Protecting children from poverty is the right thing to do and lays the foundations for a stronger country for us all.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "DWP two-child benefit cap axe now in law as 450,000 set to be lifted out of poverty"
}