Today, the Department for Work and Pensions has released the
latest experimental statistics on how many households have had
their benefits capped between April 2013 and August 2020. The key
findings from the release are:
-
As of August 2020, 170,000 households had their
benefits capped, this is an 8% increase from the previous
quarter.
-
Since the start of the pandemic, the number of
households capped has risen from 79,000 in February 2020 to
170,000 in August 2020, this is an increase of
115%
-
59,000 households had their benefits capped for the
first time this quarter.
-
On average households are capped by £57 per
week.
Commenting on the statistics Jon Sparkes,
Crisis Chief Executive, said: “With the full extent of
the economic impact of the pandemic coming to light and the
country facing a steep climb to recovery, these figures show just
how dire the situation is for people who’ve lost their job and
are now battling to pay their rent.
“Despite assurances that the nine-month grace period
would protect people who’ve just lost their jobs from having
their benefits capped, we know that for thousands of people this
much-needed respite will be coming to an end right before
Christmas, leaving many worrying about how they’re going to keep
a roof over their head or put food on the table.
“With the jobs market showing little sign of
improvement, we urgently need the government to extend the grace
period so that families don’t start the new year with the very
real threat of eviction. We also need to see people rough
sleeping exempt from the cap so that councils can move people out
of expensive emergency accommodation quickly, and into safe and
secure homes they can afford.”
-Ends-
Notes to Editor
Most people when they lose their jobs receive a grace
period of nine months before their benefits are capped: https://www.gov.uk/benefit-cap/how-earnings-affect-when-benefit-cap-starts
Last week, the Social Security Advisory Committee
highlighted the risk of the benefit cap for homelessness, and
recommended increased generosity in the grace period: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-review-of-the-covid-19-temporary-measures
