{"id":122899,"date":"2026-07-13T11:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T10:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=122899"},"modified":"2026-07-13T11:06:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T10:06:56","slug":"dwp-confirms-number-of-households-impacted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/dwp-confirms-number-of-households-impacted\/","title":{"rendered":"DWP Confirms the Number of Households Impacted by the Two-Child Limit before It Ended"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The data outlines how many families and children were impacted, the characteristics of affected households, and the number of claimants who qualified for exemptions. According to the DWP, the Government removed the Universal Credit two-child limit policy<\/strong> in April 2026 as part of its efforts to tackle child poverty and reduce financial hardship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final release, published on 9 July, recorded 495,990 Universal Credit households affected by the policy in April 2026. The statistics also show that 1,752,200 <\/strong>children were impacted, including 1,695,400<\/strong> children living in households that did not receive a child element for at least one child because of the policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final Figures Show the Scale of the Policy\u2019s Impact<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to the DWP, a household was considered affected if it had at least three children, with at least one child born on or after 6 April 2017. Between April 2025 and April 2026, the number of affected Universal Credit families increased by 15,700.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the 495,990 affected households, 478,120, representing 96 per cent<\/strong>, were not receiving the child element for at least one child. The child element is an additional payment made through Universal Credit<\/a> to help families with the costs of raising children. The figures also provide a breakdown of household types. Just over half of those affected, 55 per cent<\/strong>, were single-adult households, while the remaining 45 per cent were couple households.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Family size also varied across the claimants included in the statistics. According to the Department for Work and Pensions, 64 per cent<\/strong> of affected households had three children. A further 25 per cent had four children, eight per cent had five children, and four per cent had six or more children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Removing the two-child limit will lift 450,000 children out of poverty by the end of this parliament

Today is the last day we record the households affected by the policy, which ended on 6 April 2026 pic.twitter.com\/5ioGO2jk9L<\/a><\/p>— Department for Work and Pensions (@DWPgovuk) July 8, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>