Proof benefits cap does work

48,000 drop in the number of homes where no one has a job

‘The best route out of poverty’

TENS of thousands of families who relied on state handouts have got jobs after having their benefits capped under flagship welfare reforms, esther McVey reveals today.

One in four households hit by the benefit cap, introduced by the Tories to make work pay, have moved into employment.

In total, more than 48,000 families have found work after the limit was placed on their benefits, meaning an extra 170,000 children no longer live in a home where no one works.

Work and Pensions Secretary Miss McVey said the policy, which restricts families to a maximum of £23,000 a year in state payments, is giving children ‘ working role models in their families’.

The cap was introduced in april 2013 to ensure those who rely on welfare handouts do not get more than working families.

Miss McVey told the daily Mail: ‘Under the previous benefits system, we saw some people trapped in a cycle of worklessness and welfare dependency – often for years – and with no incentive to change their situation. In fact under the last labour government the number of households where no one worked doubled.

‘These figures show that our ground-breaking welfare reforms are breaking this cycle of dependency, supporting people to improve their lives and see the benefits that being in work brings to them and their children.

‘The benefit cap was designed to incentivise work. and that is exactly what it is doing.’

at least 180,000 households have had their benefits capped since the policy was introduced. Of these, 48,000 no longer have their payments restricted under the cap because they have begun claiming working tax credit, which means someone in the home has taken a job.

The official figures are a vindication of the policy introduced by Iain duncan Smith, the former work and pensions secretary, when Miss McVey was a junior minister in the department. He brought the cap into force to make sure that households receiving benefits were not paid more than workers bringing home a modest wage.

More than 50 families were earning the equivalent of an almost £70,000 salary in benefits before the cap was introduced.

The cap currently limits the amount in state benefits one household can claim in a year to £20,000 outside london and £23,000 within the capital.

It applies to the combined income families receive from benefits including jobseeker’s allowance, housing benefit, and child benefit.

Miss McVey last night argued that ‘work remains the best route out of poverty’. She said: ‘around 75 per cent of children in poverty leave poverty altogether when their parents move into full employment. We know that children living in a household with someone in work do better in school, have better educational attainment and are more likely to have a job later in life than children growing up in a home where no one works.’

She added: ‘There are currently a record number of people in work. The unemployment rate is the lowest since 1975 at 4.2 per cent and since 2010 we have also lifted one million more people out of absolute poverty, including 300,000 children.’

Miss McVey has launched a social media campaign to tackle misinformation about welfare changes. In short ‘explainer videos’ on Twitter, the former television presenter sets out the benefits of policies including Universal Credit which combines six benefits into one monthly payment.

It is designed to make the welfare system less complicated and ensure no one faces a situation where they would be better off claiming benefits than working, but has faced sustained attacks from critics who ministers have accused of scaremongering.

WHEN Iain Duncan Smith introduced the benefit cap in 2013, Labour erupted into a frenzy of indignation, saying it would drive poorer families deeper into poverty.

Yet new figures show that 48,000 families affected by the cap have seen at least one member move into work, dragging them out of the welfare trap.

Meanwhile with unemployment at its lowest rate since 1975, one million people (including 300,000 children) have been lifted out of poverty since 2010.

While Labour carps from the sidelines, the Government is quietly improving lives.