Government Benefits U-Turn As Amber Rudd Scraps ‘Wicked’ Two-Child Cap Extension

Amber Rudd will scrap controversial plans to retrospectively slash benefits for families with more than two children just weeks before they were due to come into force.

Since April 2017, two-child families receiving Universal Credit have not been able to claim support for any children born after that date, with the government arguing that benefit claimants “should face the same financial choices about having children” as working families.

But in a move critics said would cut families’ incomes by £3,000-a-year and push more than 260,000 children into deprivation, the government had planned to extend the benefits crackdown in February to all families with more than two children – even if they were born before the cap was introduced.

But in a speech at a Jobcentre in London on Friday morning, Rudd will vow to abolish the planned extension of the two-child limit – saying it is “not right” following a backlash from MPs.

“These parents made decisions about the size of the family when the previous system was the only system in place,” the work and pensions secretary will say.

As such, children before April 2017 will continue to be supported by Universal Credit – a move the government estimates will help 15,000 families a year.