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Social Security Benefits

Question for Department for Work and Pensions

UIN HL3233, tabled on 3 November 2015

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) whether the proposed new, lower benefit cap has a gendered effect, and (2) whether any such effect would be mitigated by excluding certain child benefits from that cap.

Answered on

12 November 2015

Her Majesty’s Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July, a copy of which is attached.


Like other welfare benefits, child related benefits are taken into account when applying the cap. Removing them from the cap would effectively mean that there would be no upper limit on the amount of benefit that out of work households could receive.