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You and Yours: Call You and Yours: Will the benefits cap force more children into poverty?

Call You and Yours: Will the benefits cap force more children into poverty?

24/01/2012

BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours, Call You and Yours: Will the benefits cap force more children into poverty?

Winifred Robinson takes calls on the government plans to cap household benefit.

The Government plans to cap household benefit entitlement for out of work households so that the amount received in benefits cannot exceed average weekly wages for working households. The cap is expected to be set at around £500 per week for couples and lone parent households. 

The Government's equality impact assessment estimates that 50,000 households will be affected by the planned cap on household benefit entitlement. The average loss resulting from the cap will be around £93 per week of household income, and 7,500 households will lose more than £150 per week. 

The Government forecast this will save £290m in 2013-14 and £330m in 2014-15. 

The annual cap would come into force in England, Scotland and Wales from 2013.

So from April 2013, the total amount of benefit that working-age people can receive will be capped so that households on out-of-work benefits will not receive more than the average household weekly wage. 
This applies to the combined income from the main out-of-work benefits including Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support, and Employment Support Allowance - and other benefits such as Housing Benefit, Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit 

Exemptions include households in receipt of Working Tax Credit, Disability Living Allowance or its successor Personal Independence Payment, Constant Attendance Allowance and war widows and widowers. 

So in tomorrow's programme we want to hear what you think of the planned cap? Are you one of those families which will be affected by the proposed limit on benefits for households? Or are you in agreement with the idea of a cap? The Government need to save money and this is one way of doing it.
03700 100 400 is the phone number, or you can e-mail via bbc dot co dot uk stroke radio 4 stroke you and yours or text us on 84844 and we might call you back.

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