Thousands On 50p-A-Week Housing Benefit

More than 7,500 households have lost their housing benefit and instead receive a nominal 50p a week because of the welfare cap, the BBC has found. A Panorama survey of hundreds of councils shows at least 67,600 homes in England, Scotland and Wales have lost some money due to the policy. The cap is £23,000 in London and £20,000 in the rest of the country. The nominal amount is paid so that those households can claim access to an emergency fund if they need to. They have to be in receipt of some housing benefit in order to be eligible to apply for discretionary housing payments, a special government fund set up for those particularly affected by the cap. Read more on the BBC website.