Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many exemptions to the two-child benefit limit due to rape have been (a) requested and (b) granted since that exemption was introduced.

The requested information is not available. However, figures are published showing the number of households in receipt of an exception for children likely to have been born as a result of non-consensual conception, which for this purpose includes rape or where the claimant was in a controlling or coercive relationship with the child’s other biological parent at the time of conception. Table2, provides this information.

The full statistics tables and supporting narrative are published here: Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit claimants: statistics related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of 2 children, April 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)