Education unions, school governors and head teachers have urged the government to scrap the two-child limit as part of the forthcoming child poverty strategy. In a letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, the NGA, NAHT, ASCL, NEU, NASUWT and Unison warned there is a pressing need to remove the policy, arguing that it harms hundreds of thousands of children in schools and classrooms. They described the measure as cruel and said it should be fully abolished this autumn.

The policy, introduced in 2017 by the Conservative government, restricts eligibility for child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households. While welcoming Labour’s steps such as extending free school meals, breakfast clubs and a cap on branded school uniforms, the unions said these changes alone will not give every child the best start in life or substantially reduce poverty. They argued that poverty is affecting children’s ability to learn and noted that many staff report adverse impacts across roles.

More than 100 Labour MPs have written to the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, urging the removal of the limit ahead of the autumn Budget. A government spokesperson said the Child Poverty Taskforce will publish an ambitious strategy to tackle the root causes of poverty. They noted plans to invest £500 million in the Best Start Family Hubs, extend free school meals and provide a £1 billion crisis‑support package to keep families fed during holidays.