Benefits cap rolled out in Bromley

The borough is one of four in London – with the other three being Croydon, Haringey and Enfield - where benefits claimants will see the amounts people on benefits receive capped.

It will be rolled out to the rest of the country in the summer.

Speaking to the News Shopper in January a Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said Bromley was chosen as a trial area because it represents a good cross section of the benefits claimed.

He added: “It cannot be fair that benefit claimants can receive higher incomes than families who are in work – in some cases more than double the average household income.

“The benefit cap sets a clear limit to what people can expect to get from the benefits system and will tackle the problem of welfare dependency."

Who will be affected by the benefits cap?

The cap applies to the total amount people in a household get from the following benefits:

• Bereavement Allowance
• Carer’s Allowance
• Child Benefit
• Child Tax Credit
• Employment and Support Allowance (unless you get the support component)
• Guardian’s Allowance
• Housing Benefit
• Incapacity Benefit
• Income Support
• Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Maternity Allowance
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Widowed Parent’s Allowance (or Widowed Mother’s Allowance or Widows Pension you started getting before 9 April 2001)
  
  Who will not be affected by the cap?

The benefit cap will not affect people who qualify for working tax credit or who get the following benefits:

• Disability Living Allowance
• Personal Independence Payment (from April 2013) 
• Attendance Allowance
• Industrial Injuries Benefits (and equivalent payments as part of a war disablement pension or the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme) 
• Employment and Support Allowance, if you get the support component
• War Widow’s or War Widower’s Pension
  
  What do you think of the benefits cap? Have your say below.