A UK city has been revealed as the area with the highest number of people on Universal Credit (UC) with three or more children, allowing them to claim up to nearly £11,000 extra under new rules. It comes after the Labour Government ditched the two-child limit, which had meant parents could only claim the child element for UC or Child Tax Credit for their first two children.

The policy faced fierce criticism over the years, with campaigners warning that it was a driver for child poverty and unfairly punished larger families. Others voiced concerns about the burden it had become on Britain's welfare bill. Labour has consistently argued it has held children from families with lower incomes back, and the was done away with from April 6, 2026.

It allowed larger households to claim more from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), albeit with an overall cap of around £22,000 to £25,000 (depending on your cirumstances and where you are in the country).

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According to DWP figures, 469,780 households receiving UC were affected by the two child limit policy in April 2025, that is, they had a third or subsequent child born on or after April 6, 2017. This included 297,310 UC households with three children, 117,190 with four, and 55,280 with five or more.

Analysis last month by The Sun of official data revealed that Birmingham had highest concentration of families impacted by the change as of April 2025, with 17,990 families now eligible for more benefits income through having three or more children.

That was followed by Bradford with 8,020 households, Manchester with 7,800 and Leeds with 7,010.

UC is a payment to help with your living costs that paid monthly or twice a month for some people in Scotland. You may be able to get it if you're on a low income, out of work or unable to work.

The standard monthly allowance is as follows:

• If you're single and under 25 - £338.58


• If you're single and 25 or over - £424.90


• If you live with your partner and you're both under 25 - £528.34 (for you both)


• If you live with your partner and either of you are 25 or over - £666.97 (for you both)

That's before any extra elements are added, including additional cash boosts if you have children living with you, support with childcare costs, and extra funds if you or your child has a disibility.

Previously families got an additional £304 a month for their first and second child. This added up to nearly £7,300 over the course of year, and would be the maximum even for families that had several more children.

With the cap removed, five-children families can receive £18,236 over the course of the year, some £11,000 more than they would have done before April, the outlet reports.

It would be topped up to £26,240 when combined with the standard allowance, though the overall amount would be capped without exemptions.

You can find out more about Universal Credit on the UK Government website.

In a statement in March ahead of the rule change, Minister for Employment Dame Diana Johnson said: "For too long, the two-child limit has held children back through no fault of their own.

"With the law now changed, hundreds of thousands of children will grow up with greater security and opportunity.

"We're determined to break the link between a child's background and their life chances and today brings us a step closer to that goal."