Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in (a) Tottenham constituency and (b) the London Borough of Harringey will be affected by the extension of the benefit cap to £23,000; and what the average cut in benefits will be.

It is estimated that around 500 households in Tottenham constituency and 800 households in the London Borough of Haringey will be affected by the lower benefit cap in 2016/17.

It is estimated that the average reduction to benefits for capped households will be £66 per week in Tottenham constituency and £68 per week in the London Borough of Haringey in 2016/17. These represent the overall average reduction from the benefit cap including the impact of both the existing higher benefit cap and the new lower benefit cap.

Notes:

1. Estimates assume no behavioural responses - any behavioural responses to the lower cap, such as claimants moving into employment, would cause the number of households affected to reduce.
2. The number of capped households has been rounded to the nearest 100 households
3. Average amounts have been rounded to the nearest £1 per week.
4. The methodology used to estimate the households affected by the cap and the average reduction is consistent with that described in the latest impact assessment published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/welfare-reform-and-work-act-impact-assessment-for-the-benefit-cap

The benefit cap will be lowered from 7th November from £26,000 to £20,000, except in London where it will be lowered to £23,000 (a lower cap applies to single adult households). To help ensure Local Authorities are able to protect the most vulnerable Housing Benefit claimants and to support households adjusting to our welfare reforms, the Government will provide £870m funding for Discretionary Housing Payments over the next 5 years from 2016/17. Information about this and other measures to ease the transition for families affected by this policy change is included in the latest impact assessment at the link above.