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Scottish National PartySocial protection

Scrap the two-child benefit cap

“Scrap the two child benefit cap, ending the unnecessary suffering caused by both the benefit cap on children and associated rape clause.”

Deliveredby HM Government2024 manifesto, page 5 (key pledges), 19 Jun 2024
  6. Delivered

Where it stands

The SNP is not in government at Westminster. The UK Government adopted the policy: Budget 2025 funded it, the Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Act 2026 became law on 18 March 2026, and the limit stopped applying from 6 April 2026. This card records that the change the SNP asked for happened, not who made it.

What has happened

  1. Jun 2024SNP manifesto lists scrapping the two-child benefit cap among its key pledges, Promised
  2. Nov 2025UK Government's Budget 2025 sets aside £2.4bn in 2026-27, rising to £3.2bn in 2030-31, to remove the limit from April 2026, Funded evidence
  3. Mar 2026Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Act 2026 receives Royal Assent, Legislated evidence
  4. Apr 2026The limit stops applying for Universal Credit assessment periods starting on or after 6 April 2026; DWP later reports the last statistics on families affected, Delivered evidence

About the cost

The SNP did not publish a cost. The UK Government's Budget 2025 scorecard puts removing the limit at £2.365bn in 2026-27, £2.815bn in 2028-29 and £3.235bn in 2030-31. The card uses 2028-29, once the change has bedded in; the low–high range is an editorial ±10% because the scorecard gives central figures only.

More detail

Sources (7)
Corrections (1): what we fixed, in public
  1. Corrected on 6 Oct 2026: Costing sources in version 1The source title gave the wrong table number. The figures are in Table 4.1 (Budget 2025 policy decisions), line 6.Was: HM Treasury: Budget 2025, Table 2.1, line 6Now: HM Treasury: Budget 2025, Table 4.1, line 6Source for the correction
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