It feels as though my third child doesn't matter

Since 6 April 2017, parents having a third or subsequent child are no longer eligible for support for that child through child tax credit and universal credit if they need it. This support is worth up to £2,830 per child per year.

This joint report from CPAG, the Church of England and the Welfare Reform and Larger Families research project presents the latest estimates of the number of families affected by the two-child limit, and provides an insight into the impact of the policy using survey data from families directly affected by it. It is a continuation of a series of annual reports tracking the impact of this policy over time.

We estimate that at least 350,000 families and 1.25 million children have now been affected by the policy on the fourth anniversary of its introduction.

When fully rolled out, the two-child limit will affect three million children in 800,000 families, and up to half a million children will have been pushed into poverty as a result of the policy.

If the two-child limit were removed today, 200,000 children would immediately be lifted out of poverty, and 600,000 children would be living in less deep poverty, at a cost of only £1 billion. This makes scrapping the two-child limit the most cost-effective way for the government to reduce child poverty.