Some households have seen their monthly Universal Credit payments cut by more than £1,000 as part of a Government crackdown on the benefit, a new report has found.
The Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) benefit cap places a limit on the total amount of benefits people can receive, and applies to a range of other benefits besides Universal Credit including Child Benefit, Child Tax Credit, Housing Benefit, Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance for those below the State Pension age. The cap means that large amounts are being deducted in a bid to drive more people into employment, with over 100,000 households said to be affected, BirminghamLive reports.
A Government-commissioned evaluation found that the benefit cap has seen claimants spending less on their children and on essentials such as heating and food. The DWP has said that the cap is driving more people off benefits and into employment, but anti-poverty charities have repeated calls for the "arbitrary, cruel" measure to be scrapped.
