Benefit cap encourages 50,000 back to work

The Government’s benefit cap has led to more than 50,000 people moving back into work or taking on more hours over the past five years, Esther Mcvey, the Work and Pensions Secretary, has suggested.

The cap limits the total amount of benefits that households can receive to £20,000 a year outside London, and £23,000 in the capital.

Official figures show that 136,000 of the 201,000 households that have had their benefits capped since 2013 now claim less than the limit.

The figures also show that almost 66,000 households are still subject to the cap, including 47,000 singleparent households.