The Scottish Government confirms an end to the two-child benefit cap

On the 17^th of June, the Scottish Government announced it will effectively end the two-child benefit cap in Scotland. Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP confirmed that a new mitigation payment will open for applications on March 2, 2026, providing additional support to low-income families with more than two children.

Magic Breakfast welcomes this commitment, which will offer a lifeline to thousands of families and bring us closer to a future where no child in Scotland goes hungry or unsupported because of the number of siblings they have.

What is the policy, and who will benefit?

The two-child cap is a cost-cutting policy implemented by the former UK Government that stops families from receiving benefits for their third or more children. The newly announced mitigation payment will remove the cap in Scotland and provide families with the additional support they have been missing. Families will be able to apply to Social Security Scotland from March 2^nd, 2026. Once approved, they should receive a monthly payment equivalent to the current Universal Credit child payment. Because Social Security Scotland will manage the scheme nationally, all eligible families, regardless of postcode, will receive equal assistance.

According to the most recent Scottish child poverty data, children growing up in families with three or more children are more likely to live in relative poverty than their peers from two-child families. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has said the mitigation payment will lift just over 20,000 children out of relative poverty, while also reducing poverty for many more.

Why income support matters for breakfast provision

Magic Breakfast understands that ending classroom hunger requires both nutritious school breakfasts and adequate household incomes that cover necessities. Our 2024 Measuring & Monitoring survey found that hunger is on the rise in the communities we serve. 80% of our Scottish partner schools believed that child hunger had increased in their school community over the last year. 85% said that the cost of living crisis was one of the main drivers of that increase.

Last year, just under half of our Scottish partner schools  said they had experienced increased requests for food aid, with some opening school-based food banks to fill gaps. Another quarter reported lower attendance, particularly in larger families. Some shared that their students are sometimes staying home to care for siblings, as childcare is unaffordable, or because transport to school is too expensive. That’s why income boosts like the mitigation payment are so important. Putting money back into families’ pockets allows them to better afford food, transportation, school uniforms, and childcare.*

Magic Breakfast’s advocacy

In our consultation response to the Scottish Government’s call for evidence on the mitigation payment, we urged the Government to create one national payment delivered by Social Security Scotland, rather than a postcode lottery through local schemes. We are pleased this model has been adopted.

That said, families will still have to apply, so potential barriers remain. We will champion and support colleagues across the sector to keep the process as accessible as possible, so every child receives the support they deserve.

Our sector partners and the Scottish Government are also clear that the long-term solution lies at Westminster. As John Dickie, Director of the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland put it: “The two-child limit is the single biggest driver of child poverty across the UK and the Westminster government needs to scrap it at the source as a matter of utmost urgency.” Doing so would free up the funding being used for the mitigation payments in Scotland, resources that campaigners argue could raise the Scottish Child Payment, and accelerate progress toward Scotland’s child poverty targets. We will continue to work with partners to urge the UK Government to follow in Scotland’s footsteps and scrap the two-child benefit cap in the upcoming Child Poverty Strategy.

Magic Breakfast will continue to advocate for policy initiatives, both north and south of the border, that result in fewer hungry pupils and brighter mornings in every classroom.

*Figures taken from the responses from 76% of our Scottish partner schools in our 2024 Measuring & Monitoring survey.