Lower benefit cap to hit a quarter of a million poor children
Nearly a quarter of a million children from poor families will be hit by the extended household benefit cap due to be introduced this autumn, according to the government’s latest analysis of the impact of the policy.
The new cap will take an average of £60 a week out of the incomes of affected households, almost certainly pushing them deeper into poverty. About 61% of those affected will be female lone parents.
Anti-poverty campaigners said the cap would damage the life chances of hundreds of thousands of children, and force already poor families to drastically cut back on the amount they spend on food, fuel and clothing.
The new cap restricts the total amount an individual household can receive in benefits to £23,000 a year in London (£442 a week) and £20,000 in the rest of the UK (£385 a week). It replaces the existing cap level of £26,000.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has argued that the benefit cap acts as an incentive for people on benefits to move into employment, because getting a job automatically exempts them from cap penalties.
Lower benefit cap to hit a quarter of a million poor children
The benefit cap is to be reduced to 23,000 a year in London and 20,000 in the rest of the Country(solidifying the concept of regional benefit rates) Some major disability benefits are included in the cap, ESA(not those in support group) Severe Disability Allowance(particularly cruel cut). Guardian estimates some families will lose 60 pounds a week, but I think some disabled people are also going to lose considerable amounts. This is on top of cuts to ESA and freezes on all benefits, the poorest are paying for austerity.