Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of households affected by the two child limit policy that are (a) two earner couple households and (b) two earner couple households in which both earners are in full time work.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

a) This information is available as part of routinely released statistical series: Universal Credit claimants statistics on the two child limit policy, April 2025 - GOV.UK

b) In April 2025, 3,700 couple households where both parents were earning at least the equivalent of 36.5 hours at the national living wage were affected by the two child limit

Notes for part b

1. We have estimated full-time work status using earnings data. The earnings threshold indicative of full-time employment was estimated based on the average full-time working hours (36.5) reported by the ONS and the current National Living Wage. This is an assumption and not a standard estimate of full-time employment.
2. Net pay was calculated using the Gov.uk online calculator.
3. Couple household: A Universal Credit contract, which includes two adult claimants, who have dependent children.
4. Affected: A child is affected by the two child limit policy if they are a third or subsequent dependent child born on or after 6 April 2017. This includes children with exceptions to the two-child limit.
5. A household is affected by the policy if they have one or more affected children.
6. Figures above have been rounded to the nearest 100.
7. Figures are for GB.

Found: meeting Members present: Bob Blackman (Chair); Jonathan Davies; Mary Glindon; Martin Vickers; Chris Vince

Found: and Whitby) Will Stone (Labour; Swindon North) Martin Vickers (Conservative; Brigg and Immingham) Chris Vince