Benefit cap: Nearly 11,000 Londoners face losing over £100 a week

Published by Max Salsbury for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Central Government, Finance, Universal Credit

Nearly 11,000 households across London face losing more than £100 a week from next April as part of the Government's £500 a week benefit cap.

From that date, households will see the total benefits they can receive capped at £26,000 a year.

Some 46% of the 56,000 households affected across Great Britain live in social housing.

The Government says the cap is designed to ensure workless households no longer receive more in benefits than the average earnings of working households.

Quizzed by Labour's Stephen Timms, the shadow minister for employment, on the number of Londoners affected by the cap and how much they'd lose, employment minister Mark Hoban said 27,600 households will see their income reduced by the benefit cap.

In a written Parliamentary answer, Mr Hoban supplied data revealing that around 10,800 households would see reductions of over £100 to come into line with the cap. The full data is shown below.

The cap will apply to the combined income from the main out-of-work benefits such as jobseekers’ allowance, plus housing benefit, child benefit and child tax credit.

Initially those receiving benefits above the cap will have their housing benefit reduced by the local authority but from October it will be integrated into Universal Credit.

Mr Hoban said: "The figures presented above are consistent with the recent impact assessment published on 16 July 2012. In making these estimates we assume that the situation of these households will go unchanged, and they will not take any steps to either work enough hours to qualify for working tax credit, renegotiate their rent in situ, or find alternative accommodation. In all cases the department is working to support households through this transition, using existing provision through Jobcentre Plus and the Work programme to move as many into work as possible. Therefore, please note that these figures are subject to change prior to the policy being implemented in April 2013."