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Update two-child limit post with primary sources and yearly estimates (#2801)
* Update two-child limit post with primary sources and yearly estimates table - Replace secondary news sources with primary research links - Add specific years for all cost estimates - Create appendix table comparing estimates across organizations - Clarify IPPR estimate includes benefit cap removal Fixes #2800 * Replace asterisk notation with proper markdown footnotes in appendix table * Correct Resolution Foundation estimates and add full coverage row - Fix Resolution Foundation 2029-30 estimate to £3.5bn (not £3.6bn) - Add 'Full coverage' row showing £3.6bn estimates for both IFS and Resolution Foundation - Add footnote explaining full coverage expected around 2035 * Fix to UK spelling: organization → organisation * Clarify that poverty impacts use absolute before housing costs measure * Move appendix after conclusion and clarify RF estimate is 'by' not 'in' 2029-30 * Remove unverified Resolution Foundation 2029-30 estimate Only include verified RF estimates: - £2.5bn in 2024-25 - £3.6bn at full coverage * Correct IFS estimates based on October 2024 report - Updated IFS estimate to £2.5bn in the long run for two-child limit removal alone - Added note that £3.3bn would be the cost if household benefit cap also removed - Removed incorrect £3.0-3.6bn range that wasn't in the actual IFS report - Source: IFS October 2024 'Child poverty: trends and policy options' report * Update two-child limit analysis with revised estimates Update cost and poverty impact estimates across years 2025-2029: - Costs: £2.7bn (2025) rising to £3.1bn (2029) - Child poverty reduction: 13.6% (2025) to 15.5% (2029) - Overall poverty reduction: 6.5% (2025) to 7.3% (2029) Update appendix comparison table with new estimates for all years. 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com> * Update two-child limit analysis with revised estimates and proper citations Updated cost and poverty impact estimates across years 2025-2029: - Costs: £2.7bn (2025) rising to £3.1bn (2029) - Child poverty reduction: 13.6% (2025) to 15.5% (2029) - Overall poverty reduction: 6.5% (2025) to 7.3% (2029) Fixed appendix to properly cite JRF (not IPPR) as source: - Added JRF £2.7bn estimate for 2025/26 (two-child limit + benefit cap) - Added JRF £2.8bn estimate for 2029/30 (two-child limit only) - Included reference to JRF's earlier May 2025 estimates - Updated sources to cite all three relevant JRF reports - Removed misleading IPPR citation that was actually gambling tax revenue Updated posts.json description to reflect 2026-27 numbers (£2.8bn, 15.7%). 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com> * Fix Prettier formatting 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com> --------- Co-authored-by: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
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changelog_entry.yaml

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- bump: minor
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changes:
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- UK two-child limit policy comparison dashboard as a featured tile on UK homepage
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changed:
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- Updated two-child limit post with primary sources from IFS, IPPR, and Resolution Foundation
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- Added specific years for all cost estimates
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- Replaced secondary news links with direct links to research organisations
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- Added appendix table comparing year-by-year cost estimates across organisations
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- Corrected IFS estimates based on their October 2024 report showing £2.5bn for two-child limit removal alone

src/posts/articles/uk-two-child-limit.md

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## Budgetary impact
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PolicyEngine estimates that removing the two-child limit would cost £2.7 billion in 2026-27, rising to £3.0 billion by 2029-30. The cost increases over time as more children are born after April 2017, when the cap was introduced, making fewer families eligible for transitional protection.
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| Year | Cost |
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| ---- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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| 2026 | [£2.7 billion](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.policyBreakdown&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2026&baseline=1) |
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| 2027 | [£2.9 billion](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.policyBreakdown&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2027&baseline=1) |
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| 2028 | [£3.0 billion](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.policyBreakdown&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2028&baseline=1) |
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| 2029 | [£3.0 billion](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.policyBreakdown&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2029&baseline=1) |
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The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates the cost at [£3.4 billion](https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/rachel-reeves-decision-axe-two-35993258), while the Institute for Public Policy Research estimates [£3.2 billion](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/two-child-benefit-cap-bridget-phillipson-labour-b2836482.html) in 2026-27.
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PolicyEngine estimates that removing the two-child limit would cost £2.7 billion in 2025-26, rising to £3.1 billion by 2029-30. The cost increases over time as more children are born after April 2017, when the cap was introduced, making fewer families eligible for transitional protection. See the Appendix for a comparison of cost estimates from different organisations across years.
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## Distributional impact
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## Poverty impact
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By age group, removing the two-child limit would reduce poverty rates most for children across all years. The child poverty rate would fall by 16.2% in 2026-27 and by 16.4% in 2029-30, while the overall poverty rate would decline by 7.1% in 2026-27 and by 7.4% in 2029-30.
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By age group, removing the two-child limit would reduce poverty rates most for children across all years. Using the absolute poverty measure before housing costs, the child poverty rate would fall by 13.6% in 2025-26 and by 15.5% in 2029-30, while the overall poverty rate would decline by 6.5% in 2025-26 and by 7.3% in 2029-30.
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| Year | Children | All |
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| ---- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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| 2026 | [-16.2%](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.povertyImpact&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2026&baseline=1) | [-7.1%](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.povertyImpact&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2026&baseline=1) |
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| 2027 | [-17.7%](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.povertyImpact&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2027&baseline=1) | [-7.9%](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.povertyImpact&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2027&baseline=1) |
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| 2028 | [-16.9%](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.povertyImpact&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2028&baseline=1) | [-7.6%](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.povertyImpact&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2028&baseline=1) |
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| 2029 | [-16.4%](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.povertyImpact&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2029&baseline=1) | [-7.4%](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.povertyImpact&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2029&baseline=1) |
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| 2025 | [-13.6%](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.povertyImpact&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2025&baseline=1) | [-6.5%](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.povertyImpact&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2025&baseline=1) |
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| 2026 | [-15.7%](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.povertyImpact&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2026&baseline=1) | [-7.4%](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.povertyImpact&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2026&baseline=1) |
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| 2027 | [-15.8%](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.povertyImpact&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2027&baseline=1) | [-7.4%](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.povertyImpact&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2027&baseline=1) |
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| 2028 | [-16.3%](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.povertyImpact&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2028&baseline=1) | [-7.8%](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.povertyImpact&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2028&baseline=1) |
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| 2029 | [-15.5%](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.povertyImpact&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2029&baseline=1) | [-7.3%](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.povertyImpact&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2029&baseline=1) |
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## Inequality impact
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## Conclusion
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Removing the two-child benefit limit would cost £2.7 billion in 2026-27, rising to £3.0 billion by 2029-30. The reform would reduce child poverty by 16.2% and overall poverty by 7.1% in 2026-27.
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Removing the two-child benefit limit would cost £2.7 billion in 2025-26, rising to £3.1 billion by 2029-30. The reform would reduce absolute child poverty (before housing costs) by 13.6% and overall absolute poverty by 6.5% in 2025-26.
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We invite you to explore the [PolicyEngine webapp](https://policyengine.org/) to model your own customised reforms.
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## Appendix: Cost estimates by organisation and year
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The following table compares cost estimates for abolishing the two-child limit from different organisations.
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| Year | PolicyEngine | IFS | JRF | Resolution Foundation |
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| ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | ---------- | --------------------- |
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| 2024-25 |||| £2.5bn |
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| 2025-26 | [£2.7bn](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.policyBreakdown&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2025&baseline=1) || £2.7bn[^1] ||
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| 2026-27 | [£2.8bn](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.policyBreakdown&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2026&baseline=1) ||||
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| 2027-28 | [£2.9bn](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.policyBreakdown&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2027&baseline=1) ||||
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| 2028-29 | [£3.0bn](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.policyBreakdown&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2028&baseline=1) ||||
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| 2029-30 | [£3.1bn](https://policyengine.org/uk/policy?focus=policyOutput.policyBreakdown&reform=93219&region=uk&timePeriod=2029&baseline=1) || £2.8bn[^2] ||
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| Long run || £2.5bn[^3] |||
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| Full coverage[^4] |||| £3.6bn |
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[^1]: JRF estimate includes both two-child limit and benefit cap removal. Source: JRF analysis using IPPR tax-benefit model (Parkes et al 2025). JRF's earlier estimate from May 2025 showed £2.0bn for two-child limit only in 2025/26
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[^2]: JRF estimate for two-child limit only. JRF's earlier estimate from May 2025 also showed £2.8bn for 2029/30
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[^3]: IFS estimate from October 2024 report "Child poverty: trends and policy options". Would cost £3.3bn if household benefit cap also removed
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[^4]: Full coverage expected around 2035 when all children potentially affected
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Sources:
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- PolicyEngine: This analysis
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- IFS: [The two-child limit: poverty, incentives and cost](https://ifs.org.uk/articles/two-child-limit-poverty-incentives-and-cost)
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- JRF: [Getting the child poverty strategy we need](https://www.ippr.org/articles/getting-the-child-poverty-strategy-we-need) (IPPR/JRF collaboration), [Two policies to boost family living standards and reduce child poverty](https://www.jrf.org.uk/child-poverty/two-policies-to-boost-family-living-standards-and-reduce-child-poverty), and [Three policies to reduce child poverty this parliament](https://www.jrf.org.uk/child-poverty/three-policies-to-reduce-child-poverty-this-parliament)
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- Resolution Foundation: [Catastrophic caps](https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/catastophic-caps/)

src/posts/posts.json

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"title": "How removing the two-child benefit limit would affect the UK",
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"description": "Removing the two-child limit would cost £2.7 billion in 2026-27 and reduce child poverty by 16.2%.",
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"description": "Removing the two-child limit would cost £2.8 billion in 2026-27 and reduce child poverty by 15.7%.",
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"date": "2025-10-06 11:00:00",
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"tags": ["uk", "policy", "featured"],
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"authors": ["vahid-ahmadi"],

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