Social Security Benefits: Children
(asked on 12th December 2025) - View Source
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the overall cost of removing the two-child benefit cap, and (2) what percentage of that cost will be spent on foreign-born children.
- Removal of the two-child limit policy costs £2.3 billion in 2026- 27 and £3.0 billion in 2029-30 as set out in table 3.2 of the Economic and fiscal outlook (November 2025) published by the Office for Budget Responsibility, on 26 November 2025. EFOs - Office for Budget Responsibility
https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/OBR_Economic_and_fiscal_outlook_November_2025.pdf
Table 3.2: Costing of the removal of the two-child limit
|
|
|
|
| £ billion (unless otherwise stated) | ||||
|
|
|
|
| Forecast | ||||
|
|
|
|
| 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 | 2029-30 | 2030-31 |
Post-behavioural costing |
|
| 2.3 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 3.1 | ||
of which: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Static costing |
|
|
| 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 2.8 | |
Direct behavioural response from higher take-up | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | ||||
Number of families gaining (thousand) |
| 510 | 520 | 540 | 560 | 570 | |||
Average annual change in award for gaining |
|
|
|
|
| ||||
families (£) |
|
|
| 4,530 | 4,790 | 5,040 | 5,310 | 5,450 | |
- Universal Credit is primarily reserved for people settled in the UK, and overall, the proportion of claimants in this country who are foreign nationals has fallen since October 2024.
We have announced plans to double the standard time most migrants have to wait before they can access benefits to 10 years, reducing the burden on the taxpayer and making sure settlement rights are earned.