Benefit cap

The Chancellor’s decisions to uprate benefits in line with inflation and to restore local housing allowance rates to the 30th percentile of rents were welcome, despite coming wrapped in punitive rhetoric, and accompanied by yet another ramping up of benefit sanctions. Increasing benefit rates and support with rent costs will make a difference to many families continuing to struggle with rising prices, who approach this winter terrified about how they will get by. But, sadly, these changes will provide absolutely no help to the over 85,000 households affected by the benefit cap, who will receive not one penny more.

CPAG in Scotland’s Early Warning System has been operating for ten years! Today we are focusing on the welfare reforms that broke the connection between need and support in the social security system.

The harms of the cost of living crisis are multiplied by the benefit cap and two-child limit, flagship policies of the welfare reform agenda which sharply sever the relationship between need and support provided by our social security system. 

The benefit cap and the two-child limit has caused hardship to tens of thousands of families, with both policies failing to meet their original aims, according to the findings of a new study.

Ten years since the benefit cap was introduced across Britain, new research shows families affected by the policy have as little as £44 a week to live on after they’ve paid housing costs.

Just over a third (34%) of people on universal credit who are subject to the benefit cap – which the Government claims incentivises work – are assessed by the DWP as not required to look for a job because they are caring for very young children, new FOI data for Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) shows.  A further 18% are already in work but don’t earn enough to reach the threshold for the cap to be lifted.