Figures released today show that 28,327 London households have so far been affected by the overall benefit cap, 45 per cent of all cases in the UK. Half lost over £50 a week, and 91 per cent had dependent children.
Darren Johnson, Green Party Member of the London Assembly, commented,
“The benefit cap is a tax on being poor in London. It takes no account of private rents in London being twice the national average. Behind these numbers will be thousands of families having to leave their neighbourhood, single parents taking their children out of school and leaving behind the friends and family members that support them.
“The Mayor promised that no child would have to leave their school, no family with good reason to stay put would have to move, but he has manifestly failed to deliver. He should join me in lobbying for rent caps, not benefit caps, and investment in social housing to bring the benefit bill down.”
This chart shows how London has been worst affected by the benefit cap:
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This map shows the boroughs with the largest number of households capped (darker blue) and those least affected (white):[[{"fid":"53991","view_mode":"default","type":"media","attributes":{"height":347,"width":435,"style":"line-height: 1.538em;","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]