UK map shows the places to benefit from Reeves scrapping 2-child benefit cap | UK | News

Removing the two-child allowance limit will affect around 1.7 million children as charities welcome Rachel Reeves’ move to lift the limit and give a boon to large families. The current system prevents parents from claiming Child Tax Credit or Universal Credit for more than two children and was introduced in 2017.

Announcing the move, which is estimated to cost £3bn a year by 2029-30, Reeves said his party “does not believe the solution to a broken welfare system is to punish the most vulnerable children”. But Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride said benefit recipients must face the “same kinds of decisions” as others about whether they can afford a large family.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Sir Mel Stride said lifting the cap was the “wrong” choice, adding: “I think when it comes down to the size of the family you decide to have, and if you want a big family, then people who work hard, pay taxes etc. have to make really difficult decisions about whether they can afford a big family.

“And I think it’s fair that those who receive benefits face the same kinds of decisions as those who work hard and pay taxes and pay for those benefits.”

Scroll down to use our interactive map…

The two-child benefit limit has affected a record 469,780 households across Great Britain by April 2025, according to figures from the Department for Work and Pensions. The majority of these households (59%) were working and were home to a total of 1.7 million children. However, the impact of the policy is not felt equally across the country; In some constituencies more than two in five children live in households affected by the two-child limit.

A total of 10,900 children lived in households affected by the two-child limit in the Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituencies, led by Labour’s Diane Abbott.

This equates to 42% of children living in the area, a higher proportion than any other parliamentary constituency in Great Britain. Birmingham Ladywood has 11,940 children affected by the policy; that’s a higher total than anywhere else in the country. 34% of children living in the area have this rate, the second highest rate in Britain.

A total of 9,920 children live in affected households in Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North (31% of the total number living there), a total of 9,200 in Bradford East (21% of all children), 7,890 in Tottenham (29%), 6,790 in Bethnal Green and Stepney (29%), 8,030 in Birmingham Yardley (also 29%) and Walsall and In Bloxwich the number is 8,030 (also 29%).

Using our interactive map you can see how many children are affected by the policy in each constituency. The map also shows which MP and party controls the seat.

According to research by the End Child Poverty Coalition, it is estimated that approximately 350,000 children could be lifted out of poverty as a result of lifting the cap.

Joseph Howes, CEO of Buttle UK and Chair of the End Child Poverty Coalition, said: “We commend the Chancellor for his decision to lift the two-child limit, which will lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty.

“This provides real hope for families across the country. More children will grow up with the security, opportunity and support they deserve.

“This change will help elevate futures, giving more children the chance to dream bigger, learn without limits and grow up knowing they are valued.”

Constituencies where 25% or more children live in households affected by the two-child limit

Hackney North and Stoke Newington: 10,900, 42%

Birmingham Ladywood: 11,940, 34%

Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North: 9,920, 31%

Bradford East: 9,200, 30%

Tottenham: 7,890, 29%

Bethnal Green and Stepney: 6,790, 29%

Birmingham Yardley: 8,030, 29%

Walsall and Bloxwich: 8,030, 29%

Salford: 6,130, 28%

Blackley and Middleton South: 7,720, 28%

Birmingham Perry Barr: 8,220, 28%

Birmingham Erdington: 7,300, 27%

Brent East: 7,250, 27%

South Leeds: 7,600, 27%

Bradford West: 8,160, 27%

Manchester Central: 5,820, 27%

Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough: 6,560, 26%

Poplar and Limehouse: 6,820, 26%

Bolton South and Walkden: 8,000, 26%

Liverpool Riverside: 4,350, 26%

Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley: 7,120, 26%

Manchester Rusholme: 5,110, 25%

Blackburn: 6,940, 25%

Dewsbury and Batley: 5,950, 25%

Gorton and Denton: 6,680, 25%