November 12, 2014 11.37 am This story is over 112 months old

Cap on benefits affects 35 Lincoln households

Reducing benefits: Some 35 households in Lincoln have had their benefits limited since the introduction of a cap on April 15, 2013.
Former Lincoln MP Karl McCartney. Photo: Steve Smailes/The Lincolnite

Some 35 households in Lincoln have had their benefits limited since the introduction of a cap on April 15, 2013.

From those affected by the cap, statistics show 21 households had their benefits capped at up to £50 per week, 7 between £50.01 and £100 and 6 between £100.01 and £150.

Around 51,200 households have had their benefits capped across the UK since the policy was introduced.

Member of Parliament for Lincoln Karl McCartney is welcoming the figure, saying the cap is supporting people off benefits and into work, “ending cycles of welfare dependency”.

The benefit cap stops some households from claiming £57,000 in benefits, equivalent to a salary of £74,000.

After the introduction of the cap, the government’s Department for Work and Pensions conducted survey which found that 43% of those affected planned to look for work.

Karl McCartney MP said: “We’ve introduced the benefit cap, to build a welfare system that rewards the willingness to work and improves our community.

“Because of this cap, 35 households in Lincoln and 2,067 in the East Midlands are no longer able to claim more in benefits than the average family earns by going out to work.

“Capping welfare is part of the Conservatives’ long-term economic plan to build an economy that delivers for hardworking people.

“The Conservative Party plans to reduce the cap from £26,000 to £23,000 to fund three million apprenticeships by the end of the next Parliament, giving hundreds of thousands of young people the opportunity of a better, more secure future.”