two-child benefit cap scrapped by chancellor rachel reeves

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has got rid of the controversial two-child benefit cap,calling the policy the one that ‘pushes kids into poverty more than any other’ at the Autumn Budget.

The move will reduce child poverty by 450,000 by 2029/30,the Government’s independent spending watchdog estimated on Wednesday.

However it will also cost about £3billion at the end of this Parliament,the Office for Budget Responsibility said in a its leaked report on the Budget,which came minutes before Reeves stood up in Parliament.

The Government had been under pressure from anti-poverty campaigners and many Labour MPs to end the policy that was brought in under the Conservatives.

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Hello,I’m Craig Munro: Metro‘s man in Westminster and writer of our weekly politics newsletter Alright,Gov?Each week I break down the latest government policies and bring you insights from behind the scenes in the Houses of Parliament.Political Reporter Craig Munro on Downing Street.This week,my focus is on the Budget and how it will affect your wallet.Sign up to my newsletter to make sure you don't miss a thing on Wednesday.Reeves said the policy ‘has failed’ on the terms it was brought in on.‘I understand that many families are finding times hard,and that many have had to make difficult choices when it comes to having kids,’ she told MPs.‘And there are many reasons why people choose to have children and then find themselves in difficult times – the death of a partner,separation,ill health,a lost job. I don’t believe children should bear the brunt of that.’Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivering the Budget (House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA Wire)She added: ‘This Labour government is achieving the biggest reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since records began. That is the difference that this government is making.’The two-child limit came into effect in 2017,meaning most households only get universal credit for their first two children.Reeves and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had both made suggestions in the lead-up to the budget that the cap would come to an end.The OBR document said the Government had ‘removed the two-child limit within UC (universal credit) from April 2026’.Removing the cap will cost £3billion by 2029-30,but child poverty charities have argued that 109 children across the country and pushed into poverty every day as a result of the policy.Helen Barnard,director of policy at foodbank network Trussell,described it as a ‘bold step which will protect hundreds of thousands of children from growing up facing hunger and hardship’,and said the Chancellor had ‘listened to the families and foodbanks across the UK who have been imploring her to act’.Unicef UK said it is a ‘major,necessary decision to tackle record levels of child poverty in the UK’,adding: ‘No child should be punished for the number of siblings they have.’Child Poverty Action Group Alison Garnham added: ‘Scrapping the two-child limit will be transformational for children. This is a much-needed fresh start in our country’s efforts to eradicate child poverty and while there is more to do it gives us strong foundations to build on. Every child deserves the best start in life and with today’s decision government has done the right thing.’