Overview

• The two-child benefit cap, introduced in 2017, limits financial support for families with more than two children, affecting millions of households across the UK.
• Potential reforms under discussion include exempting parents of children under five, parents of disabled children, or working parents from the cap's restrictions.
• Campaigners argue that scrapping the cap entirely could lift 250,000 children out of poverty, but the estimated cost ranges from £1.7bn to £3.6bn annually, making it politically challenging.
• Other proposals being explored include increasing child benefit payments for young children or introducing a 'child benefit lock' to ensure payments rise annually with inflation or earnings.
• Labour MPs and advocacy groups are pressuring the government to take stronger action on child poverty, with some warning that current measures are insufficient to address the growing crisis.