UK Ends Two-Child Benefit Limit from 2026

The UK government has abolished the two-child limit on child benefits, a policy change that will allow families to claim support for all their children through Universal Credit and Child Tax Credits, effective from April 6, 2026. The legislation received Royal Assent on March 18, 2026, marking a significant step in the Labour administration's efforts to reduce child poverty.

Introduced in 2017 by the previous Conservative government, the two-child limit restricted additional payments for third and subsequent children born after April 6, 2017, aiming to align benefit recipients' family planning choices with those of working households and generate welfare savings. Exemptions applied to children conceived non-consensually, multiple births, or those born before the policy's start date. At its peak, the restriction affected around 470,000 households across Great Britain in the year ending April 2025, including 1.7 million children, with nearly 60 percent of those families having at least one working parent. In regions like Greater Manchester, over 111,000 children in Universal Credit households felt the impact, particularly in areas such as Blackley and Middleton South, and Salford.