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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Tom Watling

The five-figure windfall families could get if Labour change key benefit

  • Tens of thousands of families with multiple children could receive thousands of pounds more in annual payments if the two-child benefit cap is abolished.
  • Official figures show over 70,000 households, including 71,580 families with five or more children, would be entitled to over £18,000 a year, with some gaining over £20,000.
  • The cap, introduced under Conservative welfare reforms, blocks parents from claiming £292.81 a month for a third or subsequent child born after April 2017.
  • Labour MPs are pressing Sir Keir Starmer to scrap the cap, arguing it punishes children in poverty, with estimates suggesting it could lift half a million children out of hardship.
  • Conservatives defend the cap as fair to taxpayers, preventing benefit packages from exceeding the minimum wage, while its abolition would cost the Prime Minister around £3.5 billion.

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