More than 2,000 Universal Credit households with eight or more children are expected to receive an additional £21,884 a year after Labour removed the two-child benefit limit. The policy change allows eligible parents to claim the child element of Universal Credit for all their children, and is projected to increase annual benefit spending by around £3 billion.

Department for Work and Pensions figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request show that 17,290 households with six or more children were receiving the child element in May, potentially gaining £14,589 a year on average. Conservatives have pledged to restore the cap and redirect savings towards defence, while the Government says nearly 60 per cent of households benefiting have at least one parent in work and that the reform will lift 450,000 children out of poverty.