Overview
- The reversal of the two-child limit is the centrepiece, with the OBR estimating about 450,000 children lifted from poverty by 2030 at a cost of roughly £3bn.
- Parents on Universal Credit will gain broader childcare help, including upfront support for those returning from parental leave and assistance covering costs for all children in a household.
- Housing measures include £8m for pilots to end stays in bed-and-breakfasts beyond six weeks, £950m to deliver up to 5,000 better temporary homes by 2030, and a legal duty to alert schools and health services when a child is placed in temporary accommodation.
- The strategy adds guidance aimed at lowering the cost of infant formula and allowing loyalty points, vouchers and gift cards to be used for purchases, responding to sharp price rises.
- Charities welcome scrapping the cap but say the plan reiterates earlier pledges, lacks a 10-year framework with enforceable goals, and leaves many of the record 4.5 million children in poverty, with analysts warning the separate benefit cap will blunt gains for some families.