Benefit Cap for Unemployed Survives Committee Vote

The government’s cap on the amount of benefits that a workless household can claim has survived a vote by MPs. The committee of MPs scrutinising the Welfare Reform Bill, which introduces a £26,000 cap on the amount of benefits that a workless family can claim, and £18,000 for a single person, have voted down an amendment which ministers believed would ‘emasculate’ the cap. Labour MPs Liam Byrne, Stephen Timms, Karen Buck and Margaret Curran had tabled a series of amendments to the cap. These included an exemption for families who had not received a reasonable job offer, exemptions for carers, and exemptions for social housing and temporary accommodation tenants. They also attempted to remove housing benefit and child benefit from the cap, which was unveiled last autumn by chancellor George Osborne at the Conservative party conference. Read more on Inside Housing.