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Three-child benefit cap would 'risk leaving hundreds of thousands of children still in poverty'
21 May 2025, 07:41 | Updated: 21 May 2025, 09:26
A three-child benefit cap would risk leaving hundreds of thousands of children still in poverty, a coalition of charities has told LBC.
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Save the Children, the End Child Poverty Coalition, and the Child Poverty Action Group joined forces to warn ministers against the move, saying it would be a "half measure" and "tinkering around the edges".
It comes as ministers are looking at ways to woo potential Labour rebels ahead of a crunch vote on welfare changes, expected next month.
LBC understands discussions are underway at the top of government about whether to make changes to lessen the impact of benefits tweaks, and winter fuel payment cuts.
Ministers are looking at whether to make announcements as part of the Child Poverty Strategy which is due out this spring, or the spending review, which is due on June 11.
Options include boosting child benefit, turning the two-child benefit cap into a three-child cap, or increasing elements of Universal Credit.
But charities have told us that wouldn't go far enough to alleviate child poverty in the UK - and want ministers to commit to lifting the two child cap altogether, which is said to cost around £3.6billion a year.
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Dan Paskins, Executive Director of Police, Advocacy and Campaigns at Save the Children UK, told LBC: "Nearly a year after the Prime Minister promised to 'leave no stone unturned' in tackling child poverty, the evidence is abundantly clear that the most effective way to help families struggling most with the cost of living is to scrap the two-child limit in its entirety.
"Half measures such as a three-child limit would mean 200,000 fewer children lifted out of poverty. This is just tinkering at the edges of a broken system when bold action is needed.
"We are also eagerly awaiting the publication of the Child Poverty Strategy which was promised this spring."
Joseph Howes, CEO of Buttle UK and Chair of the End Child Poverty Coalition, told us: "The evidence is clear, the two-child limit is a policy which continues to push families and their children into poverty every single day.
"Making this a three-child limit, keeping it in place for some families and not others, would be condemning children in the deepest poverty to a life which other children, those with fewer siblings, would be protected from.
"This policy needs to be scrapped for all families – keeping it for some and not others is simply cruel. We know that scrapping this would lift 350,000 children out of poverty immediately.
"The UK government should confirm when this strategy is being published and show how it is influencing the decisions they are making in the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review."
Child Poverty Action Group’s CEO, Alison Garnham, added: "The two-child has helped create record high levels of child poverty in the UK by blocking kids from getting the support they need.
"There’s no version of this policy that doesn’t punish children simply for having brothers and sisters and every single day it pulls more and more children into poverty.
"Now is the moment for government to commit to its promise to reduce poverty by investing in children and the future - anything less than scrapping the two child limit in full will be a disaster for the kids deliberately left behind, the country, and this government."
DWP Secretary of State Liz Kendall and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson are said to be in favour of scrapping the cap fully.
Sir Keir Starmer indicated last year he would look at this as part of the child poverty strategy.
But others in government say it's a popular policy and don't want to risk losing votes to Reform by ripping up the Tory plan, first introduced in 2017.
Ms Kendall will make a speech today to defend the controversial welfare reforms which will cut Personal Independence Payments and help get more people back into work.
She will use a speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research thinktank to insist that without urgent intervention the costs will spiral out of control.
Ms Kendall will say: “Unless we ensure public money is focused on those with the greatest need and is spent in ways that have the best chance of improving people’s lives, the welfare state simply won’t be there for people who really need it in the future,” she will say.
“That is why we are grasping the nettle of welfare reform. Not for the sake of it, but to save it.”
A group of 100 MPs has written to the chief whip to urge them to change course on the controversial benefits package.
Some of those have put their names to a public letter, warning they won't support it as it stands.
Ministers are openly looking at ways to win over possible rebels ahead of the vote.
Downing Street and the Treasury are also looking at changes over the controversial winter fuel payment cuts, following the loss of the Runcorn by-election earlier this month, and a string of council seats too.
Labour MP Simon Opher told LBC: "The best way of relieving child poverty is to abolish the two child benefit cap.
"The government is talking about is maybe making it a three child benefit cap or the first five years of a child's life.
"They will also help a bit, but if we can lift a huge number of children out of poverty by getting rid of the two child limit.
"If we can't afford it now, we should say when we can afford it, this will be the first thing that we do."
Chancellor Rachel Reeves told LBC she was "listening" to worries about the "level" that the winter fuel payments are withdrawn.
She said: "We always listen to our voters, to our constituents, and I do understand the concerns that some people have about the level at which the Winter Fuel Payment is removed."
She also suggested she would need to find the money to pay for any change in spending, to balance the books.
She's expected to outline her spending review on June 11.
A UK government spokesperson said: “This government is committed to bringing down child poverty and giving every child the best start in life.
“As our Child Poverty Taskforce looks at how best to achieve this, we are supporting families now by increasing benefits in line with inflation, increasing the Living Wage and introducing a new Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit to bring a £420 boost to over one million households managing debts.
