I Get £32,000 in DWP Benefits – and I’m Sick and Tired of Apologising. Here Is What Happened
People who rely on benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions are reacting with relief and excitement after the Labour Party government confirmed it is scrapping the two-child benefit cap. The decision means families will now receive financial support for all their children, not just the first two.
One of those set to benefit is Chelsea Lealand, a 28-year-old single mother of three who has been claiming Universal Credit for nearly three years. She says her yearly support will jump from £28,628 to £32,480, a significant increase that she believes will make day-to-day life much easier.
Chelsea, who lives in Nottingham, rents a three-bedroom council house for £480 a month. She previously worked as a hairdresser and a carer but is now unemployed and raising her children alone. Speaking about the change, she said the extra money feels like a huge relief, especially at Christmas. She explained that she will finally receive support for her third child and will be entitled to even more help if she has her fourth baby. To her, it feels like an unexpected financial boost at a time when money is tight.
She said that until now she has received nothing at all for her youngest child and has had to carefully stretch her Universal Credit payments to cover food, bills, and other essentials. According to her, the new policy gives her hope and makes her feel that having a larger family is no longer an impossible dream.
Chelsea also pushed back strongly against criticism she often receives online and in public. She said she is tired of being judged and labelled a “scrounger” for claiming benefits. In her view, the decision was made by politicians, not by her, and she believes the anger should be directed at the government rather than families who are simply accepting help that is available to them.
Labour MP Ruth Cadbury welcomed the move, saying the Chancellor’s decision would lift nearly half a million children out of poverty instantly. She described it as a powerful step that could make a real difference to families struggling to get by.
Speaking in Parliament, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she could not support a system that penalises children because of the circumstances they were born into. She made it clear that the government wanted to move away from policies that leave children growing up in poverty through no fault of their own.
The change marks a major shift in welfare policy and is already sparking strong reactions across the country, with supporters praising it as compassionate and critics warning about the long-term cost. For families like Chelsea’s, however, it represents immediate relief and a chance at greater financial stability.
