Ending benefit cap hailed as a ‘profound’ step on road to eliminating child poverty

ENDING the two-child benefit cap is a “vital step in the right direction” towards ending child poverty in the North East, campaigners say.

- DANIEL HOLLAND Local Democracy Reporter

North East Mayor Kim McGuinness welcomed the move to scrap the two-child benefit cap

Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed in her Budget yesterday that the controversial limit will be lifted in full from April 2026.

It is expected that ditching the cap will cost around £3billion and lift 450,000 children out of poverty by the end of this Parliament.

The policy, which was introduced in 2017, means that most families receiving Universal Credit can only claim support for their first two children.

Beth Farhat, chair of the North East Child Poverty Commission, said: “Scrapping the cruel two-child limit, in full and from next April, truly is a vital step in the right direction in bringing down the numbers of children held back by poverty both here in the North East and across the country.