How many families were affected by the two-child limit?

DWP's final statistics on the two-child limit, published 8 July 2026, found 495,990 Universal Credit households affected in April 2026, with 1,752,200 children living in them. Of these, 478,120 households were not receiving the child element for at least one child because of the policy.

The limit applied from 6 April 2017 and was removed from Universal Credit for assessment periods beginning on or after 6 April 2026, so the July 2026 release was the last in the series. It restricted support to two children for children born on or after 6 April 2017, with exceptions such as multiple births.

The limit applied to the child element of Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit, not to Child Benefit, which is paid for every child. Earlier editions are in the DWP and HMRC collection.

Official sources: Two-child limit statistics, April 2026 · DWP and HMRC two-child limit collection

The latest figure

The newest value is at Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). More on it: People on Universal Credit (Great Britain).

When is the next figure out?

Quarterly bulletins on GOV.UK at 9:30am; the release to 14 May 2026 was published on 18 August 2026, the next (to 13 August 2026) is confirmed for 17 November 2026 and the following for 16 February 2027. Detailed monthly data are in Stat-Xplore, whose API needs a free key

Every official release due in the next two weeks is on the release calendar.

Terms used in this answer

• Claimant count
  The number of people claiming benefits principally because they are unemployed: Jobseeker's Allowance and Universal Credit claimants required to look for work.
• Administrative data
  Information collected by organisations while running a service, such as tax records, benefit claims or hospital activity, and then used to produce statistics.
• Great Britain and the United Kingdom
  Great Britain is England, Scotland and Wales. The United Kingdom is Great Britain plus Northern Ireland. Some statistics cover only one or the other.
• Headcount
  A count of individual people, each counted once regardless of how many hours they work or how many posts they hold.

Where the figures come from

• UK poverty and household income statistics (DWP, ONS, DESNZ, Low Pay Commission and devolved governments)
  Where to find official UK poverty, household income, inequality, minimum wage and fuel poverty figures, and how to check claims about them.

Related questions

• How many people claim Universal Credit?
• How many children are in poverty in the UK?
• What is the National Living Wage?

This answer says where the official figures are published and how they are defined. It gives no verdict on any claim. To report an error, send a correction request. More questions about poverty, incomes and cost of living: all Poverty, incomes and cost of living questions.