More than 1,500 Midlothian children affected by two-child benefits limit

The two-child limit restricts child allowances in universal credit and tax credits – worth £2,935 per year – to the first two children in a family unless the children were born before April 6, 2017 when the policy came into force.

The Child Poverty Action Group is calling for the policy – which it says pushes families into poverty – to be scrapped by the Government.

Department for Work and Pensions figures show that 520 households with three or more children in Midlothian were receiving Universal Credit in April, and 350 received Child Tax Credits – 870 in total.

CPAG estimates that around one in 14 children in Midlothian are impacted by the cut-off – which is below the average across the UK, of one in 12.