Benefits Cap Begins Roll-out Across Britain
- 15 Jul
A cap on the amount of benefits people can receive is now being rolled out across England, Wales and Scotland.
The cap which affects all people of working age was introduced in April in four London boroughs - Croydon, Bromley, Haringey and Enfield.
It was made to ensure that benefits payments do not go beyond the income of the average working household.
The cap began being rolled out in other places on Monday and will be fully implemented by the 30th of September.
Benefits that are involved include child benefit, housing benefit, jobseeker's allowance and incapacity benefit, while disability living allowance and the personal independence payment among others are exempt.
Campaigners have cautioned that many households will not be able to cope with the resultant drop in income.
However, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has placed restrictions which are supposed to provide an incentive for those receiving benefits to seek work and prevent families from receiving more by depending on welfare .
The government's impact assessment of the Welfare Reform Act projected that:
"As many as 56,000 households would be affected, losing on average about £93 a week."
In London, over 7,000 low-income families will lose more than £100 a week.
The DWP says:
" The cap will save £110m a year, which compares with a total benefits bill of £159bn in 2011-12."
For more statistics on the cap, visit the Guardian.
Image source: http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/200384
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