Overview
- The centrepiece is ending the two‑child limit on benefits from April, a step the government estimates will reduce child poverty by about 450,000 by 2030 at a cost of £3 billion.
- Universal Credit changes will extend eligibility for upfront childcare costs to parents returning from parental leave and allow support with childcare for all children in UC families.
- Housing measures include £8 million for Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots in 20 councils to prevent B&B stays beyond six weeks and a new legal duty for councils to notify schools, GPs and health visitors when a child enters temporary accommodation.
- Ministers say they will work with the NHS to stop mothers with newborns being discharged into B&Bs or other unsuitable housing, responding to concerns about safety in temporary accommodation.
- Charities welcomed scrapping the cap and wider support but warned the plan lacks binding long‑term targets, with the government acknowledging roughly four million children will still be in poverty without further action.