Ending the Two-Child Cap – A Victory for Britain’s Children

The government’s decision to abolish the two-child benefit cap, announced in the Budget and now embedded within the UK’s new Child Poverty Strategy, marks one of the most significant shifts in social policy for a generation. As a former Chief Executive of Barnardo’s, I welcome this change wholeheartedly. It corrects a policy that has pushed hundreds of thousands of children into hardship, and it signals a renewed willingness to confront the structural drivers of poverty rather than simply manage its consequences.

Introduced in 2017, the two-child cap limited Universal Credit and tax credit support to the first two children in a family. It never reflected the realities of family life or the principles of a fair welfare system. Larger low-income families that were already balancing rising rents, insecure work and increasing living costs, were hit hardest. The evidence was clear from the outset: the cap drove child poverty upwards, deepened financial insecurity and forced families into impossible decisions about food, heating and basic essentials. Charities, academics and faith leaders warned repeatedly that the policy would harm children. Those warnings were borne out in classrooms, GP surgeries, food banks and family support services across the country.

The government now estimates that removing the cap will lift around 450,000 children out of poverty. Behind that figure are children who will arrive at school better nourished, parents who will no longer have to choose between heating and eating, and families who can begin to rebuild stability after years of financial strain. It is a reform that restores dignity and fairness to the social security system and recognises that every child, regardless of birth order, deserves the chance to thrive.

What makes this moment particularly significant is that the abolition of the cap sits within a broader strategic framework. The new Child Poverty Strategy sets out a ten-year plan to address both the immediate pressures facing families and the deeper structural causes of poverty. It includes commitments to increase the Universal Credit standard allowance above inflation, expand eligibility for free school meals to all children in households receiving Universal Credit, extend breakfast provision, reduce essential living costs, and strengthen early years support through family hubs and improved childcare access.

These are important steps, and together they represent a shift in direction after a decade in which child poverty rose sharply. Yet the strategy also exposes the scale of the challenge ahead. Many of the measures, while welcome, consolidate existing commitments rather than break new ground. The strategy lacks clear interim targets, making it harder to track progress or hold government to account. It also risks overlooking the untapped potential of faith-literate approaches which, as Equi’s research on faith, family and the care system shows, already contribute to more stable outcomes, whilst saving nearly £310 million a year through community-driven care. And while it acknowledges the pressures facing families, it could have gone much further on the structural issues that drive poverty like housing affordability, childcare reform and the adequacy of local welfare support. To put this in stark context, the success of the strategy will still leave another 4 million children in poverty.

During my time at Barnardo’s, I saw how poverty corrodes childhood. It affects educational attainment, mental and physical health and long-term life chances. It places enormous pressure on schools, social care and the NHS. In that context, abolishing the two-child cap is not simply a welfare reform- it is a child protection measure and a public service intervention. Children thrive when society invests in them. In economic terms, it is an investment that will save far greater costs in the future.

I see this reform as the beginning of a new chapter rather than the end of the story. For now, it is a victory for compassion, justice and common sense. It will lift nearly half a million children out of poverty, support the most vulnerable families and strengthen the delivery of public services. This is the right thing to do. Right for children, for families and for Britain’s future.

Prof. Javed Khan OBE is the Managing Director of Equi and was Chief Executive of Barnardo’s from 2014 to 2021.

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