UK Government to scrap two-child limit on benefits

Date: 27th November 2025
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Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights) warmly welcomes the UK Government’s announcement that the two-child limit will be scrapped from next April. This long-overdue change marks a significant step towards upholding children’s human rights by tackling child poverty across the UK.

Introduced in 2017, the two-child limit restricted Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit to the first two children in most households. In practice, it pushed low-income families deeper into financial hardship, disproportionately affecting larger families and leaving many children without access to essential items such as food, clothing and secure housing. Charities, including many of Together’s members, have repeatedly highlighted the devastating impact of the policy on children’s rights.

For years, Together has raised serious concerns about the two-child limit as a breach of the UK Government’s human rights obligations. The policy was fundamentally incompatible with children’s rights under Articles 26 (right to social security) and 27 (right to an adequate standard of living) of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). In its 2023 Concluding Observations, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child urged the UK to abolish the two-child limit and take stronger action to tackle child poverty, food insecurity and homelessness. The recent Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) similarly called on the UK to reverse harmful welfare reforms, including the two-child limit and the benefit cap.

The announcement represents a major victory for the many organisations and campaigners – across Scotland and the wider UK - who have worked tirelessly for this change.

The impact of scrapping the policy will be significant. The UK Government estimates that around 450,000 fewer children will be in poverty by 2029-30. This is particularly important at a time when child poverty across the UK reached a record 4.5 million children earlier this year.

In Scotland, the Scottish Government has taken important steps within devolved powers - including the Scottish Child Payment and expanded free school meal provision - and had committed to mitigating the two-child limit from 2026. The First Minister said the UK Government’s decision will now free up resources to spend on other measures to tackle child poverty.

While this is a significant step forward, Together is clear that much more remains to be done to fully uphold the rights of babies, children and young people. We urge the UK and Scottish Governments to continue prioritising children’s rights, strengthening social security, and ensuring every child grows up with the dignity, security and opportunities to which they are entitled.

• Find out more about the UK Budget here.