Overview

• Official DWP figures for April 2025 show 469,780 Universal Credit households and 1,665,540 children impacted by the two-child cap, a 2% increase year on year.
• The JRF survey found 71% of families with three or more children borrow for food, heating or toiletries, while 82% are in arrears and 88% go without daily essentials.
• Current estimates put child poverty at a record 4.45 million as of March 2024, with campaigners citing the cap as a major driver.
• Charities including CPAG and Save the Children describe the policy as “brutal,” warning it pushes 109 children into poverty every day and urging its removal.
• Lifting the cap would cost an estimated £2–3.5 billion annually and could immediately lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty, but its fate remains undecided under fiscal constraints.