Campaign Reply - The Two-Child Policy

Thank you for contacting me about the cap which restricts child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in a family.

Supporting families and helping parents into work requires a balanced system that provides support for those who need it, but that also ensures a sense of fairness to the taxpayer and many working families who do not see their incomes rise when they have more children.

The previous benefits structure, which adjusted automatically to family size, was unsustainable. Moreover, the latest statistics show that 78 per cent of families on Universal Credit (UC) had fewer than three children. I understand that the Government therefore feels it is proportionate to provide support through Child Tax Credit and UC for a maximum of two children. The same policy does not apply to help with childcare costs, passported benefits (for example, free school meals), additional support for any disabled children or Child Benefit.

I do recognise that some people are not able to make the same choices about the number of children in their family, and I welcome the full support for third and subsequent children born after April 2017 in certain circumstances. This includes children cared for by family or close friends under kinship care arrangements, children adopted from local authority care, and multiple births.