£22m-a-year benefit burden of UK’s supersized families
£9,000 for pregnant-again mother of 12
HUGE families are costing taxpayers about £22million-a-year in child benefit.
More than 3,000 households with eight or more children received state handouts last year, it emerged yesterday.
The sum – equivalent to roughly £400,000 a week – included 10 claimants each with 13 or more children.
Critics branded the system as “incredibly complicated and inefficient” and warned working families should not have to pay.
Former Tory MP Sir Gerald Howarth said: “The brutal truth is, in far too many parts of the country, there are generations of families who have been on benefits and are still on benefits today.
“The nation cannot afford it. When the Just About Managings, as Theresa May has rightly called them, are struggling, it is grossly unfair that there are some people who are simply continuing to abuse the system.”
Comfortable
He said benefit handouts are there to support those in need “and not to give a comfortable lifestyle to people who will not exercise responsibility themselves”.
Taxpayers paid out £12.7million for 2,095 families with eight children last year.
Figures from HM Revenue & Customs revealed 800 families with nine children were given £5.4million in handouts, 275 with 10 children received £2.1million and 85 claimants with 11 children got £697,000 last year.
Ten families with 13 or more children were given £96,252 in benefits last year, while 30 claimants with 12 children received £267,384.
Tory parliamentary candidate David Davies said: “The Government is absolutely right to have brought in limits on the benefits that it will pay people who have more than two children when they’re already claiming benefits.
“If you’re deliberately having children when you’re on benefits, we’re sending out a message that is unacceptable.
“There are people who decide that they don’t want to work and they have large families and they effectively expect the taxpayers to A PREGNANT mother of 12 once dubbed “Britain’s most shameless mum” receives almost £9,000 a year in child benefit – and is set to rake in more.
Cheryl Prudham allegedly gets £47,000 in state handouts.
The part-time cleaner, of Warrington, Cheshire, is expecting her 13th baby and has come under fire for her lifestyle bring them up.” With child benefit people can claim £20.70 each week for their eldest child and £13.70 for each additional child.
But new claimants will only be able to receive child tax credits for their first two children, under rules introduced in last month. Alex Wild, after appearing on the Channel 5 show Benefits: Britain’s Most Shameless Mum.
This Morning presenter Holly Willoughby challenged the 34-year-old last June. Ms Willoughby, a mother of three, said she “would really struggle to sleep at night if I was taking all this money and there was somebody at the end of the road of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “We have an incredibly complicated and inefficient benefits system, especially so when it comes to families with children.
“There is no point in having child tax credit and child benefit which essentially do the same job. It would with disability allowance that was being cut”. But Cheryl said: “I’m addicted to having babies and want to have another one soon.
“I don’t think it’s anyone’s business. I can have as many children as I want.
“I’m just claiming benefits that the Government have created for me. Why wouldn’t I take advantage of them?” be much more sensible to get rid of child benefit altogether, rolling some of the savings into child tax credit so it can be better targeted at poor families and cutting taxes for families.”