The two-child cap on benefits in the UK officially ends today in a policy shift that will lift an estimated 450,000 children out of poverty.
First introduced by the Conservatives in 2017, the policy restricted child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the cap would be lifted on April 6 when she delivered the budget in November, after months of pressure from Labour backbenchers.
As the two-child cap ends, a series of other UK government policies aimed at helping people with rising living costs are also coming into force.
This includes day one rights to paternity leave, and reforms to statutory sick pay as part of the Employment Rights Act.
The state pension is also going up, something the government says will be worth up to £575 a year for a new claimant.
Housing benefit and personal independence payments are among the benefits which are also being uprated.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the decision to scrap the cap meant the government was favouring benefits claimants over working people.
Mrs Badenoch said: "While working people struggle with rising fuel costs and food prices, Keir Starmer is giving another handout to those on benefits.
"The Conservatives believe in fairness and that those on welfare should have to make the same choices about their family as those who aren't.
"That's why we would reinstate the two-child cap and use the savings to bolster our armed forces.
"In an increasingly dangerous world, we have to prioritise, and my plans will ensure a stronger economy and a stronger country."
Human rights organisations Amnesty International led calls for the government to go further in its ambitions to tackle poverty in the UK.
Jen Clark, Amnesty International UK's economic, cultural and social rights lead, said: "However welcome the lifting of the two-child limit is, it fails to go far enough to help the vast majority of children living in poverty in the UK.
"The government urgently needs to make changes to the social security system to make it fairer, particularly given the growing cost-of-living crisis.
"This includes removing the benefit cap and scrapping the devastating system of sanctions.
"For decades, these policies have kept those most in need in poverty, forcing parents to choose between putting food on the table and turning the heating on."
