UNICEF UK reiterates calls for UK Government to urgently abolish the two-child limit as data shows 1 in 9 children affected
London, Thursday 11 July 2025: New UK Government data released today shows 1.6 million children are locked out of financial support due to the number of siblings they have, and the vast majority (1.1 million children) are living in families with a child or baby under 5 years old.
Dr Philip Goodwin, Chief Executive Officer of The UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) said:
“Today’s shocking figures reveal the urgent need to abolish the two-child limit. This cruel policy is one of the biggest drivers of child poverty in the UK, and it is hitting babies and toddlers the hardest, as 1.1 million children in 310,000 households with children under age 5 affected by the policy.
The policy unfairly punishes families and pushes children into poverty while they are in their critical early years. The government promised to break the link between background and opportunity. If it is serious about that promise, it must urgently abolish the two-child limit now for all children.”
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Notes to editors:
For more information, please contact the UNICEF UK media team on 0207 375 6030 [email protected]
UNICEF Innocenti’s Report Card 18: Child Poverty in the Midst of Wealth
Report Card 18: Child Poverty in the Midst of Wealth picks up from Report Card 12’s analysis of the effect of the 2008-10 recession on child poverty, published in 2014, and looks at the progress that has been made in the last decade and consider what more needs to be done to achieve results for children.
Report Card 18 makes use of monetary and non-monetary (material deprivation) measures for its analysis. The headline measure of the report is relative income poverty, that is the proportion of people who earn less than 60 per cent of the average income. Non-monetary poverty measures access to essential goods and services.
The UK saw the highest increase in child poverty of all OECD and EU countries included in the report between 2012/14 and 2019/21.
Download the report here.
More child poverty research and data from UNICEF UK
- New analysis from UNICFE UK: ‘Held back from the start: the impact of deprivation on early childhood,’ maps every Local Authority area in England against its level of deprivation and a range of early childhood health and educational outcomes.
- A joint report from UNICEF UK and NSPCC: Opening Doors: Access to early childhood services for families impacted by poverty in the UK found that families experiencing poverty in the UK face barriers to accessing early childhood services at every level.
UNICEF UK’s Early Moments Matter campaign
UNICEF UK’s Early Moments Matter campaign is calling on the UK Government to invest properly in early childhood so that parents and carers can access the vital services and financial support to help them and their baby now and set them up for success in the future. Families need a range of support, but the campaign is focusing on financial support for parents, access to early education and childcare, and parents’ mental health as an urgent priority.
Find out more about the campaign or sign the petition here.
About UNICEF
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.
The UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) raises funds for UNICEF’s emergency and development work for children. We also promote and protect children’s rights in the UK and internationally. We are a UK charity, entirely funded by supporters.
United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK), Registered Charity No. 1072612 (England & Wales), SC043677 (Scotland).
For more information visit unicef.org.uk. Follow UNICEF UK on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.