500 familiies lose out from new limits on housing benefit

FIVEFOLD INCREASE MEANS MORE ARE AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS

MORE than 500 families in Coventry have been hit by the Government’s housing benefit cap with a fivefold increase in the number of households in the city losing out. The shocking increase over a 12-month period has come about after tougher limits were introduced. Figures from the Department of Work and Pensions show that in November 2017, 525 households in the city were losing some of the Housing Benefit they would otherwise have got because of the cap. That compares to just 90 in November 2016, when tougher capping limits were first introduced. The maximum a family could get in benefits was slashed from £26,000 to £23,000 (£442 a week) in London and £20,000 (£385 a week) elsewhere. Generally the cap is implemented by reducing Housing Benefit, which critics warn can put families at risk of losing their home. The Chartered Institute of Housing warned when the new capping levels were introduced they could have a “severe” impact on families and “risk worsening what is already a growing homelessness problem”. Coventry City Council has said the growing cost of dealing with rising levels of homelessness is one of the reasons behind a 4.9 per cent council tax increase planned for this year. The data shows that of the 525 households in Coventry affected by the cap, 78.1 per cent are single parents with dependent children, while 21 per cent are couples with dependent children. Of those affected 41 per cent have four or more children. In terms of the effect of capping, 94 households have lost more than £100 a week, while 13 have lost more than £200 a week. The number of households affected by the stricter cap has also soared in other parts of Warwickshire. In Nuneaton and Bedworth, there were 18 households affected by the cap in November 2016 but 116 in November 2017. In Stratford, numbers rose from eight to 49, in North Warwickshire from nine to 41, in Warwick from 11 to 46 and in Rugby from eight to 29. Benefit capping was first introduced, at the less punitive levels, in September 2013. It was brought in by the coalition government to stop unemployed families receiving more than the average salary in total benefits. It applies to the total amount a household receives from a range of benefits including not only housing benefit but various child benefits, Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, Maternity Allowance and Jobseeker’s Allowance. The cap is implemented by paying out less in either Housing Benefit or Universal Credit. Unlike many other benefits, Housing Benefit is not actually paid direct to the claimant. Instead, it goes to the landlord in whose property they live. Nationally, the number affected by the cap was 20,096 in November 2016, and rose to 62,644 in November 2017.

Figures from the Department of Work and Pensions show that 525 households in the city were losing some Housing Benefit.