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

PoliticsPersonal Finance
19 Aug 2025 • 4:17 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

image is not available

  • 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.

IN FULL

Newswav Malaysia Best News App

Newswav is an online content aggregator and obtains its content from different online sources. The content in the app do not belong to Newswav nor do they reflect the opinions of Newswav and its staff. Your use of this app indicates your understanding and acceptance of this information.

Newswav Sdn. Bhd. (201701008480 (1222645-M)) 2026 All Rights Reserved