Doncaster families having their benefits capped despite being not expected to work

Charity Child Poverty Action Group said the figures demonstrate the flaws in the Government's approach to capping benefits, which is designed to encourage more people into work.

The cap limits the Universal Credit of households who earn less than £658 a month. Claimants escape the cap if they can earn more.

Figures provided by the Department for Work and Pensions show there were 133 families having their benefits capped in the Doncaster North constituency as of last August.

Of these, 56 of them were not expected to be in work by the DWP, either due to health problems or having caring duties – often for very young children.

Another 23 families were already in work, but didn't earn enough to reach the threshold for the cap to be lifted.

In Doncaster North the benefit cap cuts the Universal Credit of affected families by an average of £187 a month.

The 133 families affected had 490 children, and included 112 single-parent families.

Meanwhile 75 families are having their benefits capped in the Don Valley constituency with 32 of them were not expected to be in work. Another 13 families were already in work, but didn't earn enough to reach the threshold for the cap to be lifted.

In Don Valley the benefit cap cuts the Universal Credit of affected families by an average of £186 a month.

The 75 families affected had 260 children, and included 58 single-parent families.

And 114 families having their benefits capped in the Doncaster Central constituency, 38 of them were not expected to be in work by the DWP.

Another 10 families were already in work, but didn't earn enough to reach the threshold for the cap to be lifted.

In Doncaster Central the benefit cap cuts the Universal Credit of affected families by an average of £203 a month.

The 114 families affected had 420 children, and included 84 single-parent families.

The figures were provided to the Child Poverty Action Group through Freedom of Information requests, which found more than one in three families across England, Scotland and Wales in receipt of Universal Credit are having their benefits capped while not being expected to work – 37,970 in total.

The charity's chief executive Alison Garnham said the Universal Credit cap should be completely removed.

She said: "Our data demonstrates the fallacy that the benefit cap is a work incentive. How can it be when so many households caught by it are unable to take a job because of young children? It doesn’t incentivise work, it leaves children hungry.

"The Government’s position on the cap is incoherent. It must be removed before it harms more young lives."

The Government recently announced the benefit cap will be uprated in April by 10.1%, in line with inflation. This will mean that capped households can gain from annual benefit uprating for the first time since the cap was implemented in 2013.

But the benefit cap has not increased since it was introduced in 2013 and, in 2016, it was lowered.