REEVES TO SCRAP TWO-CHILD BENEFIT CAP – £3bn Plan Could Lift 350,000 Children from Poverty
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to scrap the two-child benefit cap in her November Budget — a move expected to cost more than £3 billion, but lift 350,000 children out of poverty.
The measure, introduced under the Conservatives, limits benefits to a family’s first two children. Reeves says ending it reflects Labour’s commitment to tackling child poverty — a key priority for Prime Minister Keir Starmer ahead of the next election.
She told BBC Radio 5 Live that “a child should not be penalised because their parents don’t have very much money.”
The decision marks a major policy shift for Reeves and Starmer, who previously ruled out removing the cap over cost concerns.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is due to publish findings from a government taskforce recommending the cap’s full abolition — reinforcing Reeves’ plan to make reducing child poverty a central part of Labour’s economic agenda.
