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 to be affected in Ashfield constituency by the introduction of the lower cap on the amount which working households are entitled to receive in benefits.

It is estimated that in the Ashfield constituency around 200 households could be affected by the lower benefit cap in 2016/17.

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. The methodology used to estimate the households affected by the cap 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