Parliament has enacted the Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 18 March 2026. The Act abolishes the statutory restriction that limited the child element of Universal Credit to two children, and applies from assessment periods beginning on or after 6 April 2026, as defined by the governing primary legislation.
In Great Britain, section 1 amends section 10 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 by deleting subsection 10(1A) and removing the cross‑reference in section 10(4). In consequence, section 14 of the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 has subsections (2), (4) and (5)(a) omitted, and regulation 24(1) of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/376) removes the words 'and in respect of whom an amount may be included under section 10'.
The Act also revokes, in Great Britain, the subordinate legislation that created exceptions to the limit. Regulation 24A, regulation 24B and Schedule 12 of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013 are revoked because they were made under the power to provide for exceptions to the two child limit, which is no longer in force.
Northern Ireland provisions mirror those for Great Britain. Section 2 removes Article 15(1A) of the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 and the cross‑reference in Article 15(4). It also omits paragraphs (2), (4) and (5)(a) of Article 10 of the Welfare Reform and Work (Northern Ireland) Order 2016, and adjusts regulation 25(1) of the Universal Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 (SR 2016 No. 216) by removing the words 'and in respect of whom an amount may be included under Article 15'.
The Northern Ireland exceptions are likewise withdrawn: regulation 25A, regulation 25B and Schedule 12 of the Universal Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 are revoked. These provisions were made under the now‑removed power to provide for exceptions to the two child limit.
Commencement and extent are set out in section 3. Sections 1 and 2 come into force on 6 April 2026, with section 1 extending to England, Wales and Scotland, and section 2 to Northern Ireland. Section 3, which also contains the short title, takes effect on the day of Royal Assent.
The Act enables transitional or saving provision to be made. The Secretary of State may make regulations by statutory instrument for Great Britain, and the Department for Communities may do so by statutory rule in Northern Ireland, to manage any transitional arrangements associated with commencement.
For claimants, the practical effect is timing‑based. Awards may include the child element for a third or subsequent child from the start of the first assessment period that begins on or after 6 April 2026, provided the claimant meets the statutory tests of responsibility in section 10 of the 2012 Act or Article 15 of the 2015 Order.
In operational terms this means outcomes will vary by a claimant’s assessment period cycle. For example, a claim with an assessment period opening on 10 April 2026 would see the change apply from that date, while a claim with a period opening on 5 April 2026 would see the change from the next cycle. Payment timetables follow existing Universal Credit arrangements.
Other Universal Credit rules are unaffected. The removal of the two child limit does not alter the underlying conditions of entitlement or the method by which responsibility for a child or qualifying young person is determined; it solely eliminates the statutory cap on the number of children for whom the child element can be included.