Overview
- In a TV interview, Keir Starmer said he is determined to drive down child poverty and that measures are coming, following Rachel Reeves’s pledge that children should not be penalised for being in larger families.
- A definitive decision is expected in the chancellor’s 26 November Budget, with ministers declining to publish details ahead of the statement.
- Treasury discussions reportedly cover full repeal as well as alternatives such as raising the limit to three or four children or tapering support for subsequent children.
- Independent estimates suggest scrapping the cap would cost in the low-to-mid billions annually, with the IFS citing around £3.6bn and projecting hundreds of thousands fewer children in poverty.
- Think tanks and campaigners caution that the overall household benefit cap would curb gains for some families, with the Resolution Foundation estimating partial or no benefit for a share of households and the i reporting no active plan to raise that cap.