Plaid Cymru has intensified its calls for the abolition of the two-child benefit cap, warning that the policy is driving families in Wales further into poverty.
The demand follows a report from the UK Government’s child poverty taskforce, which identified removing the cap as the single most effective measure to reduce child poverty across the country.
Introduced by the Conservatives in 2017, the two-child limit restricts financial support to the first two children in most households. Campaigners have long argued that the policy unfairly penalises larger families and entrenches hardship.
Figures suggest that child poverty in Wales, already among the highest in the UK, is set to increase from 32.3% in January 2025 to 34.4% by 2029. The Trussell Trust has also warned that families with three or more children face a significantly higher risk of hunger, describing the two-child limit as a “significant driver”. Its research estimates that scrapping the policy would lift nearly 29,000 people in Wales out of severe hardship by 2026/27.
Plaid Cymru’s Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson, Ann Davies MP, said her party had been pressing for the policy’s removal since its introduction.
“Families across Wales are being pushed deeper into hardship by a policy that punishes children for circumstances entirely beyond their control,” she said.
“Plaid Cymru have consistently called for the two-child limit to be scrapped, not only because morally, it is the right thing to do, but also because it has been shown time and again to be the most cost-effective and immediate way to lift thousands of children out of poverty. This is something we’ve known for a very long time.
“Plaid Cymru have tabled motions in Westminster and in the Senedd calling for the policy to be abolished, which Labour have consistently voted against. It is telling that Starmer’s own taskforce has now admitted what we have been saying all along. Perhaps Labour are starting to realise that pandering to the right, and adopting Tory policies isn’t what people voted for over a year ago.
“I said it back in July 2024, and I will say it again: the most powerful ‘change’ this UK Government could implement would be to scrap the two-child limit. I urge the Prime Minister to act decisively to lower the alarming rates of child poverty and ensure that everyone gets the best possible start in life.”
In July 2024, the SNP tabled an amendment to the King’s Speech calling for the abolition of the two-child cap. While Plaid Cymru supported the proposal, every Welsh Labour MP voted against it, a decision that ensured the controversial measure remained in place.
The latest intervention comes as pressure grows on the Labour Government to revisit its welfare policies, with campaigners warning that child poverty in Wales will continue to climb unless urgent action is taken.
