Social Security Benefits: Greater London

(asked on 11th November 2016) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of households in each local authority area in London whose weekly income will be reduced by (a) under £20, (b) between £21 and £39.99, (c) between £40 and £59.99, (d) between £60 and £79.99, (e) between £80 and £99.99 and (d) over £100 as a result of the introduction of the lower benefit cap.


Answered by
Caroline Nokes Portrait
Caroline Nokes
This question was answered on 17th November 2016

The information requested is in table 1 below.

Table 1: Average weekly reduction in Housing Benefit due to introduction of the lower benefit cap, 2016/17

Under £20

between £20 and £39.99

between £40 and £59.99

Over £60

Total

Barking and Dagenham

100

100

300

-

500

Barnet

200

300

300

-

800

Bexley

-

100

200

-

300

Brent

300

500

700

-

1500

Bromley

-

-

200

-

200

Camden

100

200

200

-

600

City of London

-

-

-

-

-

Croydon

100

100

500

-

700

Ealing

400

300

700

-

1300

Enfield

200

400

600

-

1200

Greenwich

100

100

200

-

400

Hackney

300

500

400

-

1200

Hammersmith and Fulham

200

100

200

-

500

Haringey

200

300

400

-

800

Harrow

100

100

200

-

300

Havering

100

100

200

-

300

Hillingdon

200

100

200

-

500

Hounslow

100

100

300

-

500

Islington

100

200

200

-

600

Kensington and Chelsea

100

200

200

-

500

Kingston upon Thames

-

100

100

-

200

Lambeth

200

100

300

-

600

Lewisham

100

100

400

-

600

Merton

-

100

100

-

200

Newham

200

100

500

-

800

Redbridge

100

100

200

-

400

Richmond upon Thames

-

-

100

-

200

Southwark

100

100

200

-

500

Sutton

-

-

100

-

100

Tower Hamlets

200

200

500

-

900

Waltham Forest

200

100

300

-

600

Wandsworth

200

100

300

-

600

Westminster

200

200

400

-

800

Notes:

  1. Estimates show the weekly reduction as a result of the introduction of the lower benefit cap only and not the overall reduction from the benefit cap.
  2. 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.
  3. The number of capped households has been rounded to the nearest 100 households. For Local Authorities with fewer than 50 households, these are recorded as “-“ to avoid the release of confidential data.
  4. Totals may not sum due to rounding
  5. 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.

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