Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Benefit Cap

Monday 25 January 2021 · 1 question

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Kevin Brennan questioned the Government on imposing the benefit cap on families with children during a crisis.
  • The Minister responded that the benefit cap ensures fairness for tax-paying households and incentivizes moving into employment.
  • Universal credit households are exempt from the cap if their monthly earnings are at least 604.

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Questions & Answers

Context

The MP is questioning the government's decision to impose the benefit cap on families with children when the grace period ends, given the economic crisis affecting many constituents.

Question

I thank the Minister for that answer, but at a time when all of us know constituents who are struggling through the crisis which has brought them such hardship through no fault of their own, are the Government really going to impose the benefit cap on tens of thousands of families with children when the so-called “grace period” comes to an end? Is that really true? If it is, can she tell me this: how is that fair?

Answer from Mims Davies

The benefit cap provides fairness for hard-working tax-paying households as a clear incentive to move into a job where possible. Universal credit households are exempt from the cap if the household earnings are at least £604 a month. I reiterate to the House that the amount of individuals capped remains very low in comparison to the UC case load, at around 3%.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The fairness of imposing the benefit cap on families during a crisis was not addressed directly

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