Could the two-child benefit cap be scrapped?

Parents can only currently claim child tax credit or universal credit for a maximum of two children per household.

And although the government has said it does want to lift the two-child benefit cap, it’s also stated that it’ll only do so when economic conditions allow.

So it was interesting to note that in an interview this week, early years education minister Stephen Morgan refused to rule out scrapping the cap in an effort to tackle child poverty.

Speaking to The I Paper, he said: “We’re ambitious for every child, and we will set out more details in terms of tackling child poverty in our child poverty strategy, which will be published later this year, using all levers available to us to bring down child poverty.”

Charities calling for end to two-child cap

The comments come as the government is facing strong pressure to scrap the two-child benefit cap, which has been in place since April 2017.

Earlier this year, a group of leading charities, including Citizens Advice, Barnardo’s and Save the Children UK, wrote a joint letter saying they believe it would be the most cost-effective way to reduce child poverty “by far”.

In the letter, they said: “It would lift 350,000 children out of poverty overnight and result in 700,000 children living in less deep poverty.”

The charities also warned that if the two-child benefit cap stays in place, child poverty could reach a record high by the end of this parliament.

This, it said, would be “the first time a Labour government would leave such a legacy”.

Find out what benefits you can claim

If you’re struggling to cover your day-to-day expenses because of the two-child benefit cap, we can check you’re getting everything you’re entitled to.

So get in touch or try our benefits calculator to see what support you could be eligible for.