Swinney seeks to speed up action to scrap two-child cap in Scotland
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Ending the two-child cap on some benefits in Scotland could take place earlier than expected, with First Minister John Swinney saying his Government could act in the coming year. Setting out plans to accelerate action, Mr Swinney said there is the “potential to make a real and radical difference to the lives of children in Scotland”.
SNP ministers at Holyrood have previously pledged to effectively scrap the policy north of the border, but this had not been expected to happen before April 2026. The benefits cap means families can only claim some benefits for their first two children, with no payments made for subsequent children.
The Scottish Budget for 2025-26 includes funds to work towards ending the cap, and Mr Swinney said on Wednesday that if the system can be put in place more quickly, payments could start being made in the coming year. The announcement came just over a month after the policy was first unveiled in the Scottish Government’s draft Budget.
Those spending plans already include “the resources that we need to build the systems that will allow us to effectively remove the two-child cap for claimants in Scotland”, Mr Swinney said. However his speech in Stirling on Wednesday failed to mention where the cash to fund any payments in 2025-26 would come from – with independent experts at the Scottish Fiscal Commission having already advised the policy could cost £155 million in its first year.
