The Scottish government will implement groundbreaking child poverty reduction measures by effectively abolishing the UK’s two-child benefit cap from March 2026. Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville announced the move will lift 20,000 children from relative poverty through new mitigation payments.
Starting March 2, 2026, affected families can apply for payments through Social Security Scotland. The benefit will compensate for UK welfare restrictions that currently deny support for third or subsequent children born after April 2017.
“This intervention couldn’t wait,” Somerville said noting the £140-150m first-year cost represents a necessary investment. The policy accelerates Scotland’s distinctive welfare approach, which already spends £1.5bn annually topping up UK benefits.
While anti-poverty campaigners celebrated the announcement, opposition parties questioned its sustainability. Scottish Conservatives warned of “unsustainable costs,” while Labour’s Paul O’Kane noted mere 1% child poverty reduction since the SNP took power in 2007.
The timing proves politically charged payments will begin weeks before the 2026 Holyrood elections. However, analysts confirm the policy’s efficiency: at £4,500 per child lifted from poverty, the Institute for Fiscal Studies calls it “highly cost-effective.”
Pressure mounts on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to follow Scotland’s lead UK-wide. His government plans an autumn decision on the cap when publishing its child poverty reduction strategy. A UK government spokesperson highlighted existing measures like benefit uprating and minimum wage increases.
For now, Scotland’s move creates a bold social policy divergence. As John Dickie of Child Poverty Action Group stated: “Families facing real hardship need action now” a challenge both governments must now answer.
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