‘Benefit cap hits single-parent families hardest’
NEARLY 2,000 households in Cardiff have been hit by the benefits cap since its introduction – with some losing more than £200 a week.
The UK Government said the measure was providing “fairness to the taxpayer”, but charities said it was throwing families into “severe financial hardship” and today called for it to be scrapped.
The controversial measure was introduced in 2013 by the then coalition government in Westminster to limit the amount that can be claimed from the state.
It stands at £20,000 a year outside London for couples, single parents and families, and £13,400 for single adults. It is taken from Housing Benefit or Universal Credit.
Latest figures from the Department for Work & Pensions shows a total of 9,009 households in Wales have seen their benefits capped between April 2013 and the end of February this year.
Some 1,937 of those were in Cardiff alone, with 642 in Swansea and 638 in Newport.
The majority of the total affected – 5,642 households – lost up to £50 a week, but 2,656 lost £50-£100 a week, 595 lost £100-£150 a week, and 73 lost between £150-£200 a week. A further 17 households lost even more than that.
The figures do not add exactly to the total because in some cases low numbers have been adjusted very slightly by the DWP to protect anonymity.
Some 5,474 of the affected households – or well over half – were singleparent families. A further 3,335 have been couples with children.
Across the UK as a whole, nearly a quarter of a million households have been hit by the cap since it came into force. Well over a quarter of the 230,406 total have been in London, where rents are typically the most expensive in the country.
The majority have lost £50 a week or less – but 297 households have lost more than £400 a week. Some 60% of affected households – 67,879 in all – are single-parent families.
Alison Taylor, director of operations at Turn2us – a charity which helps those in financial difficulty – said the benefits cap had had “a profoundly negative impact on many families”.
She added: “The cap works by taking away money that the welfare system has calculated they need to live on, breaking the link between need and entitlement.”
Laura Deward, policy officer for Gingerbread, the charity for singleparent families, said: “The policy has pushed single parents with the youngest children into deeper poverty, including hampering their ability to pay their rent, with a risk of homelessness.” A DWP spokesperson said: “Working is the best route towards prosperity and the benefit cap provides a clear incentive. More than 60,000 households have moved off the benefit cap due to starting a job or increasing their hours.”