Overview

• Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said she is confident the government will "do the right thing" and confirmed she will argue in Cabinet to lift or scrap the limit.
• No formal decision has been announced, and reporting suggests the Treasury is weighing options such as expanding the limit to three or four children, tapering support, or limiting changes to working parents, with a full repeal estimated at about £3bn a year.
• Introduced in 2017, the policy prevents Universal Credit and child tax credit payments for a third or subsequent child, with national estimates indicating more than 1.6 million children are affected.
• More than 100 organisations in North East England have urged scrapping the cap at the 26 November Budget, and the Child Poverty Action Group estimates removal could lift 350,000 children out of poverty.
• A government spokesperson said ministers will publish an ambitious child poverty strategy later this year, as case studies describe families skipping meals under the cap.