Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of exempting children under child arrangement orders from the benefit cap.

• The Government acknowledges the immense value of care given by family and friend carers, who look after children whose parents are unable to provide the necessary care themselves. This was discussed during the passage of the Work and Welfare Reform Act 2016.

• Family and friend carers are able to receive support for the children in their care through the benefit system as they have access to child benefit and child tax credit on the same basis as parents.

• A cap at £23,000 in Greater London is equivalent to gross family earnings of around £29,000. A cap at £20,000 in the rest of GB is equivalent to gross family earnings of around £25,000
• If we are to treat family and friend carers in the same way as parents for the other facets of the benefits system then it is right that the benefit cap principles should apply in the same way for family and friend carers as they do for parents.

• Where claimants need further financial support, Local Authorities can provide additional support through the use of Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs). The funding for DHPs is specifically aimed at a number of groups who are likely to be particularly affected by the benefit cap. These include people with family and friend care responsibilities.