Two-child limit scrapped at cost of £3bn to cut child poverty by 450,000

The controversial two-child benefits limit will be scrapped from April, at a cost of £3 billion at the end of this Parliament.

Ditching the policy will result in an estimated reduction of child poverty by 450,000 by 2029/30, the Government’s independent spending watchdog said.

The confirmation came from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which unusually published its economic and fiscal document before Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her Budget on Wednesday.

The Government had been under increasing pressure from anti-poverty campaigners, as well as many of its own Labour MPs, to end a policy introduced under the Conservatives.

Ms Reeves and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had both hinted in the lead-up to the Budget that the cap could go.

The two-child limit – fi