Families, with children and housing to pay for, may have their benefits capped under the latest government bill.
Five hundred families inBirminghamwill be affected, including those who receive roughly £1,000 to pay for rent.
According to the BBC, the new Department for Work and Pension caps – which applies toEngland,WalesandScotland, are expected to be introduced from April 2013.
Housing allowance for privately-rented houses for those living on benefits will be capped at £700 for four-bedrooms maximum and rent for a two-bed home in the city will be cut to £500.
The cap also applies to out-of-work benefits like Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
There is also a possibility that the cap may also include Child Benefit, which is currently paid to all parents who apply for it, regardless of their income.
But Lib Dem leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said that he supported the cap because “you can’t receive more in benefits than if you were to earn £35,000 before tax.”
He told reporters, “That’s the simple principle which we will stick to and we will make sure that any amendments in the Lords that make that impossible will be reversed.”
However, some have argued that the cap meant that some children will no longer get child benefit and thus increasing the chances of child poverty.
The bishop told the broadcaster, “It cannot be right for the cap to be the same for a childless couple as for a couple with children. Child benefit is the most appropriate way to right this unfairness.”
