The government have set a limit on the total amount of benefit a household can receive. For working-age households, total household welfare payments will be limited to £500 per week for couple and lone parent households, and to £350 per week for single person households where no children are present. The benefits cap is being phased in gradually across the country. It was introduced in Bromley, Croydon, Enfield and Haringey in April 2013 and is being introduced in other parts of Great Britain between 15th July and 30th September 2013.

The cap will be administered by your local council through reduced Housing Benefit payments and councils may be able to provide some compensation through a Discretionary Housing Payment for those affected.

Benefits included in the cap

Most benefits are included except for disability benefits. The cap includes:

• Housing Benefit
• Child Benefit & Guardian's Allowance
• Child Tax Credit
• Jobseeker's Allowance
• Income Support
• Employment and Support Allowance (except when in the support group)
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (except when also getting Constant Attendance Allowance)
• Carer's Allowance
• Maternity Allowance
• Reduced Earnings Allowance & Severe Disablement Allowance
• Widowed Parent's Allowance & Bereavement Allowance
• Council Tax Support and one-off payments like the social fund are not included.

Exemptions

You will not be affected by the cap if:

• you are in work and entitled to Working Tax Credit
• you have recently been in work
• you, your partner or a child receives a disability benefit
• you live in supported exempt accommodation

Exemptions for disability

Disability benefits that qualify to make you exempt from the cap are:

• Disability Living Allowance
• Constant Attendance Allowance
• Attendance Allowance
• Industrial Injuries Benefit (and equivalent payments made as part of a War

Disablement Pension or the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme)

• Employment and Support Allowance with a support component.
• War widows and widowers will also be exempt.

Exemptions for current or recent work

The benefit cap is intended to increase work incentives so there is an exemption for households that are considered to be "in-work." You will be considered in-work and be exempt from the benefit cap if you are entitled to Working Tax Credit.

In addition, from the benefit cap’s introduction there will be a grace period of 39 weeks for those claimants who have been in work for the previous 12 months and find that their circumstances have changed because their job has ended. The grace period will apply equally to those whose job finishes before or after the introduction of the cap.

Exemption if you live in Supported exempt accommodation

The benefit cap does not apply to people who live in supported exempt accommodation.

More information

The benefits calculator and our online resources are updated as the changes come into force but if you'd like more information entitledto Director, Phil Agulnik was interviewed on various radio stations on roll-out day and the recordings are available online.