# 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.” > > — Scottish National Party; 2024 manifesto, page 5 (key pledges), 19 June 2024 - **Status:** Delivered, brought about by HM Government (The UK Government removed the limit; the SNP is not in government at Westminster.) - **Status ladder:** Promised → In plan → Legislated → Funded → Delivering → Delivered - **Policy area:** [Social protection](https://ledgergov.uk/promises/area/social-protection) - **Speaker:** [Scottish National Party](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/snp) - **Made on:** 19 June 2024 - **Where:** 2024 manifesto, page 5 (key pledges) - **Cost a year:** Costs £2.5bn to £3.1bn a year (central £2.8bn) - **Who it affects:** Families with three or more children claiming Universal Credit or Child Tax Credit - **When:** Not stated in the manifesto - **Paid for by:** Not stated when it was announced - **Quote source:** https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/www.snp.org/uploads/2024/06/2024-06-20b-SNP-General-Election-Manifesto-2024_interactive.pdf (checked word for word on 6 October 2026; Quoted for reporting; rights stay with the publisher) - **Last updated:** 6 October 2026 - **Card:** https://ledgergov.uk/promise/uk-snp-two-child-cap-2024 ## 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. ## Timeline - 19 June 2024, Promised: SNP manifesto lists scrapping the two-child benefit cap among its key pledges - 26 November 2025, Funded: UK 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 ([evidence](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2025-document/budget-2025-html)) - 18 March 2026, Legislated: Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Act 2026 receives Royal Assent ([evidence](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2026/13/enacted)) - 6 April 2026, Delivered: The limit stops applying for Universal Credit assessment periods starting on or after 6 April 2026; DWP later reports the last statistics on families affected ([evidence](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/plan-to-track-progress-on-lifting-550000-children-out-of-poverty-published)) ## 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. Costing sources: - [HM Treasury: Budget 2025, Table 4.1, line 6](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2025-document/budget-2025-html) ## Corrections - 6 October 2026, the cost sources in version 1: The 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 6. Now: HM Treasury: Budget 2025, Table 4.1, line 6. ([source](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2025-document/budget-2025-html)) ## Sources - [SNP: A Future Made in Scotland, 2024 manifesto (PDF), page 5](https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/www.snp.org/uploads/2024/06/2024-06-20b-SNP-General-Election-Manifesto-2024_interactive.pdf) - [SNP: John Swinney's 2024 manifesto speech, 19 Jun 2024](https://www.snp.org/snp-leader-john-swinneys-2024-manifesto-speech/) - [HM Treasury: Budget 2025, 26 Nov 2025](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2025-document/budget-2025-html) - [legislation.gov.uk: Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Act 2026](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2026/13/enacted) - [DWP: Two-child limit scrapped as historic Bill becomes law, 19 Mar 2026](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/two-child-limit-scrapped-as-historic-bill-to-lift-450000-children-out-of-poverty-becomes-law) - [DWP: Plan to track progress on lifting 550,000 children out of poverty published, 9 Jul 2026](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/plan-to-track-progress-on-lifting-550000-children-out-of-poverty-published) - [DWP: Universal Credit claimants statistics on the two child limit policy, April 2026, 8 Jul 2026](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/universal-credit-claimants-statistics-on-the-two-child-limit-policy-april-2026/universal-credit-claimants-statistics-on-the-two-child-limit-policy-april-2026) ## Checks - Checked by AI Journalist (automated) on 6 October 2026; human editor review to come. --- Public Ledger's own writing (headlines, status notes, cost notes, summaries) is licensed under [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): reuse it, crediting Public Ledger with a link to the card. Official figures are under the [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) unless their source says otherwise; quotes from Parliament under the [Open Parliament Licence v3.0](https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright-parliament/open-parliament-licence/); other quotes are short extracts whose rights stay with the speaker. How the numbers and statuses are made: https://ledgergov.uk/method.