The government must urgently pay attention to the needs of those most vulnerable in our society. While the to-do list is long, scrapping the benefit cap would be a very good place to start, write Kitty Stewart and Ruth Patrick

Patrick, Ruth

Stewart, Kitty

English

LSE Research Online

The	most	vulnerable	households	have	been	forgottenin	the	cost-of-living	crisis	and	the	consequences	willbe	devastating.	It’s	time	to	scrap	the	benefit	cap.The	government	must	urgently	pay	attention	to	the	needs	of	those	mostvulnerable	in	our	society.	While	the	to-do	list	is	long,	scrapping	the	benefit	capwould	be	a	very	good	place	to	start,	write	Kitty	Stewart	and	Ruth	Patrick.While	the	cost-of-living	crisis	has	rightly	been	making	headlines,	one	group	hasreceived	little	attention,	despite	the	extent	of	the	hardship	they	face.	These	arethe	families	–	more	than	120,000	of	them	–	who	are	affected	by	the	‘benefit	cap’,a	policy	which	places	an	absolute	limit	on	the	annual	support	a	family	can	receive	in	support	from	the	benefitssystem	if	no	household	member	is	working.There	has	justly	been	a	backlash	against	this	government’s	failure	to	support	the	poorest	at	a	time	ofunprecedented	need:	a	failure	writ	large	in	Chancellor	Rishi	Sunak’s	2022	spring	statement.	The	government	hasflatly	refused	to	uprate	benefits	in	line	with	current	inflation,	let	alone	to	provide	a	buffer	against	the	coming	shock	ofhigher	energy	prices.	In	mid-April,	benefit	rates	will	rise	by	just	3.1%	–	far	below	the	8%	needed	to	keep	up	withrising	prices.But	those	affected	by	the	benefit	cap	will	not	even	get	this.	Introduced	in	2013	and	lowered	in	2016,	the	cap	hasremained	the	same	in	cash	terms	ever	since	–	£20,000	or	£23,000	in	London.	For	capped	households,	any	rise	inbenefits	shows	up	only	as	an	increase	in	the	amount	by	which	they	are	capped.	They	do	not	receive	a	penny	extrato	live	on.	This	matters	at	all	times,	but	especially	in	these	extraordinary	times.	With	food	prices	rising	and	energycosts	rocketing,	these	families	have	been	left	out	in	the	cold.The	benefit	cap	was	introduced,	we	now	know,	because	while	it	represented	very	modest	savings,	‘it	polled	off	thecharts’.	Chances	are	it	polled	so	well	because	of	the	way	benefit	recipients	have	been	represented	by	politiciansand	in	the	media	over	the	years	–	as	skivers	and	scroungers,	rather	than	as	people	with	goals,	dreams,	talents	andvalues,	trying	to	do	what	is	best	for	their	families,	despite	having	been	dealt	a	difficult	hand	or	fallen	on	hard	times.It	works	with	and	reinforces	crude	and	simplistic	divisions	between	‘working	families’	and	‘welfare	dependents’,divisions	which	have	been	mobilised	by	this	government	as	it	refuses	to	provide	decent	support	to	those	notcurrently	in	paid	employment.Nearly	nine	in	ten	of	the	120,000	households	who	are	currently	capped	have	children,	and	nearly	half	have	a	childunder	five.	Two-thirds	are	single	parent	households.	One	third	are	single	parents	with	a	child	under	five.	And	7,330families,	6%	of	the	total,	are	single	parents	with	a	baby	under	a	year	old.Behind	each	of	these	numbers	is	a	family	with	a	story	to	tell.	As	part	of	our	Nuffield	Foundation	funded	project	onbenefit	changes	and	larger	families,	we	are	working	alongside	families	affected	by	the	benefit	cap.	The	level	ofhardship	and	anxiety	they	are	experiencing	has	often	been	hard	to	listen	to.	It	is	hard	to	believe	that	the	benefit	capwould	poll	so	well	if	people	had	more	information	about	the	reality	of	the	lives	of	the	families	who	end	up	capped,and	what	this	means	for	them	and	their	children.Families	like	Lucy’s.	She	has	three	children	under	five	–	a	four-year-old	and	two-year-old	twins.	That	would	be	achallenge	on	any	income.	But	Lucy’s	husband	is	a	construction	worker	and	has	been	in	and	out	of	work	over	thelast	couple	of	years.	They	escaped	the	cap	for	six	months	in	2021	as	he	was	working	but	they	were	capped	again	inJanuary	when	he	was	laid	off.The	family	live	in	London	in	private	rented	accommodation.	Lucy	bids	every	week	for	social	housing	but	is	alwaysway	down	the	list.	The	house	has	had	problems	with	mould	and	rats	and	it’s	cold	because	there	are	no	carpetsdownstairs.	The	rent	is	£1375	a	month,	and	the	landlord	has	warned	of	a	further	rent	rise	this	year.	After	paying	therent	and	housing	charges	and	a	Universal	Credit	advance	payment	and	some	of	the	bills	(but	not	gas	andelectricity,	which	are	on	a	meter)	they	have	a	total	of	around	£65	per	week	to	live	on.	That’s	for	all	five	of	them	for	aweek.	Every	week.British Politics and Policy at LSE: The most vulnerable households have been forgotten in the cost-of-living crisis and the consequences will be devastating.It’s time to scrap the benefit cap.Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2022-04-11Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/scrap-the-benefit-cap/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/Lucy	usually	tops	up	the	gas	and	electricity	meter	by	£20	each	week	–	a	big	slice	out	of	the	weekly	budget.	Butrecently,	the	£20	has	been	lasting	much	less	long.	The	family	thinks	carefully	before	doing	the	washing	or	watchingTV	but	sometimes	£10	seems	to	disappear	in	just	a	couple	of	days.	It’s	hard	to	imagine	how	it	is	possible	to	live	onso	little	and	that’s	quite	simply	because	it	isn’t	actually	possible.Foodbanks	have	been	a	big	help	–	in	February	Lucy’s	family	went	to	the	foodbank	every	week.	Sometimes	they	getsupport	from	family,	but	family	are	finding	things	tough	too	and	Lucy	doesn’t	want	to	always	be	taking	and	notgiving	back.	Last	month	they	went	into	arrears	with	rent	and	Council	Tax.	There	just	didn’t	seem	to	be	any	otheroption	but	knowing	about	the	debt	is	adding	to	her	worries.	Still,	there’s	one	treat	that	she’s	so	far	managed	toprotect	–	a	Kinder	Egg	for	the	children	on	a	Friday.	It	feels	like	a	luxury,	but	it’s	a	little	slice	of	the	childhood	shewould	like	them	to	have.Lucy	has	been	looking	for	work	in	childcare,	where	she	has	qualifications.	But	she	has	also	struggled	withdepression	in	the	last	few	months	since	her	husband	lost	his	job.	She	told	us	that	she	cries	every	day	and	thatsometimes	she	finds	it	hard	to	leave	the	house.	She	is	in	touch	with	the	GP	and	mental	health	services,	but	theycan’t	do	anything	about	the	fundamental	problem:	she	is	in	constant	crisis	because	our	social	security	system	isfailing	to	support	her	family	properly	during	its	time	of	need.The	problems	here	are	clearly	not	only	about	social	security.	Lucy’s	circumstances	underline	the	huge	issue	of	highcost	and	poor-quality	housing.	The	high	rent	(for	substandard	housing)	is	central	to	understanding	her	family’ssituation.A	benefit	cap	of	£23,000	a	year	may	poll	well	because	it	sounds	like	a	very	large	amount	of	money.	But	in	reality,the	vast	majority	of	this	money	goes	to	a	private	landlord,	while	the	family	are	only	managing	by	relying	on	charityand	debt.	If	the	landlord	carries	through	on	the	threat	to	raise	the	rent	this	year,	this	will	mean	a	higher	share	of	thetotal	for	the	landlord	and	even	less	for	Lucy	to	survive	on.	Meanwhile,	when	benefits	rise	in	April,	she	will	not	seeany	change	to	her	income.	And	as	the	gas	and	electricity	meter	eats	the	£20	top-ups	more	and	more	quickly,	thefamily	will	inevitably	find	it	harder	and	harder	to	survive.The	consequences	of	this	situation	will	be	felt	long	term.	There	is	strong	evidence	of	a	causal	link	between	povertyand	maternal	depression,	and	we	know	that	maternal	development	is	terrible	for	child	development	–	as	is	povertyitself.	This	is	a	crisis	for	families	like	Lucy’s	right	now,	and	it	also	represents	a	host	of	costly	future	problems	in	themaking.	We	urgently	need	this	government	both	to	pay	attention	to	the	needs	of	those	most	vulnerable	in	oursociety	today,	and	to	think	long-term	about	the	future.	The	to-do	list	is	long	–	and	it	grows	longer	with	each	failureby	this	government	to	act.	But	scrapping	the	benefit	cap	would	be	a	very	good	place	to	start.______________________Note:	The	project	on	which	the	above	draws	has	been	funded	by	the	Nuffield	Foundation,	but	the	views	expressedare	those	of	the	authors	and	not	necessarily	the	Foundation.	The	Benefit	Changes	and	Larger	Families	project	is	amixed	methods	research	project	exploring	the	impact	of	benefit	changes	including	the	benefit	cap	and	the	two-childlimit	on	the	experiences	and	outcomes	of	larger	families.About	the	AuthorsKitty	Stewart	is	Associate	Director	of	the	Centre	for	Analysis	of	Social	Exclusion	and	AssociateProfessor	of	Social	Policy	at	LSE.		Ruth	Patrick	is	Senior	Lecturer	in	the	Department	of	Social	Policy	and	Social	Work	at	theUniversity	of	York.		British Politics and Policy at LSE: The most vulnerable households have been forgotten in the cost-of-living crisis and the consequences will be devastating.It’s time to scrap the benefit cap.Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2022-04-11Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/scrap-the-benefit-cap/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/	Photo	by	Austin	Kehmeier	on	Unsplash.British Politics and Policy at LSE: The most vulnerable households have been forgotten in the cost-of-living crisis and the consequences will be devastating.It’s time to scrap the benefit cap.Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2022-04-11Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/scrap-the-benefit-cap/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/

The most vulnerable households have been forgotten in the cost-of-living crisis and the consequences will be devastating. It’s time to scrap the benefit cap.

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The most vulnerable households have been forgotten in the cost-of-living crisis and the consequences will be devastating. It’s time to scrap the benefit cap.

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