Showing the exemptions
‘A big day for welfare reform,’ David Cameron hails new benefits cap
DAVID Cameron has said it is “amazing” that Labour opposes a new policy cap on the amount of benefits people can receive, as a trial began in parts of the capital today.
National implementation of the cap will begin in July, and the policy should come fully into force by the end of September.
The cap, expected to save £275 million in 2013-14, is being brought in to cut spending and to bring benefits payments into line with average income.
It will cover out-of-work benefits such as Jobseekers Allowance, plus Housing Benefit, Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit.
However, there are exemptions if someone in the household receives Working Tax Credit, Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance, Industrial Injuries Benefits and War Widows and War Widowers pension.
We have a very clear message: we will provide support to those who need it, but the days of outrageous claims giving people incomes far above those of working families are over
Last week the Government claimed the number of people expected to be hit by the cap had fallen from 56,000 to 40,000, with 8,000 claimants finding work through JobCentre Plus.
Mr Duncan Smith hailed the figures, saying the cap had provided a “strong incentive” for people to look for jobs, even before it had started to affect their incomes.
But Jonathan Portes, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research and a former chief economist at the Department for Work and Pensions, said there was “no evidence at all” that the cap had affected people’s behaviour.