Welfare reform minister Lord Freud has faced more questions in parliament from peers worried about the proposed benefit cap for workless households. The Welfare Reform Bill, which is currently going through the House of Lords, will cap total benefits. The bill will allow the government to determine how it sets the cap, and Lord Freud has said it intends to set it in line with median household earnings, which would be around £26,000 a year. Peers have warned the cap as it stands would disproportionately affect families with children. Amendments to exclude child benefit from the calculation of the cap, to implement a 26 week grace period and exemptions for carers and those in temporary accommodation, were among the amendments debated on Wednesday. Lord Freud said the amendments would ‘undermine the fundamental principles of the cap’. The amendments were withdrawn or not moved. Peers will not get a chance to vote on amendments until the report stage of the bill next month. Read more on Inside Housing.
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