DWP ‘broken’ benefit cap could see 35,000 more families miss out on extra money next April
22.06.2022 - 22:31
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
New analysis from Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) shows that around 35,000 more families across the UK could have their benefits capped next April, leaving them with a growing gulf between their income and rising costs in living. In Scotland 4,000 households are affected by the arbitrary limit to benefit entitlements.
Figures published this week by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) revealed that 120,000 households were already subject to the benefit cap in February 2022, which included 103,000 (86%) families with children. Because their benefits are capped, these families saw no increase in their income at all when most benefits were increased by 3.1% in April.
As a result, the charity said this left them with a real-terms income cut of £1,800, based on the 9% rise in inflation at that time. They also lost out on the temporary £20 weekly uplift in Universal Credit introduced at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The cap limits the amount of benefits that low-earning or non-working households across the UK can receive to £20,000. The amount of benefit a household receives is reduced to ensure claimants do not receive more than the cap limit.
The benefit cap can be applied through either:
The benefit cap hasn’t been increased since it was introduced in 2013 and was lowered to its current level in 2016.
While the cap has remained frozen since November 2016, CPAG highlights how the cost of living has risen by 18% since then.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has committed to uprating benefits next April, but CPAG warns that unless the cap is removed, the rise will take an estimated 35,000 additional families to the capping threshold overnight, so they will see little or no increase in their incomes to help them cope with