Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of the benefit cap on the ability of families affected by that cap to afford to food, heating, clothing and personal care items.

The Department published its evaluation of the original benefit cap levels “Benefit cap: Analysis of Outcomes of capped claimants” in December 2014. This included in-depth interviews with people affected by the benefit cap, about the impact of the benefit cap on their income and wellbeing.

The evaluation can be accessed via the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-cap-evaluation