The Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill: briefing for Second Reading

CPAG strongly supports the Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill and we ask all MPs to vote in favour of the Bill at its Second Reading on 3 February 2026.

There are a record 4.5 million children living in poverty in the UK today – without this Bill this number is forecast to climb even further.

The two-child limit is the key driver of this rise in child poverty, and removing the limit is the most cost-effective way to reduce child poverty.

Scrapping the two-child limit is a win-win, increasing living standards for millions of children and families overnight, while also boosting health, educational and developmental outcomes for children, which go on to shape their future life chances.

The majority of families affected by the limit have three children and are in work. The reasons why parents are out of work are largely either because someone in the family is disabled, or because they are caring for a young child.

Voting for this Bill is absolutely critical to lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty, and is the only way to bring an end to the pernicious ‘rape clause’.