benefit cap letters

It is likely that some (all?) LAs have now received their list of potentially affected claimants. In Oxford City the number is about 230 ‘households’. The council is weeding through this list to try to isolate obvious errors (i.e. double conting where both partners are identified on the list as ‘households’).

Not aware of any claimants who have received their letter yet. Note NAWRA are suggesting there may be significant errors in those identified (i.e. claimants who are exempt from the cap due to a child who has entitlement to DLA).

Copy of letter I manageed to get.  As I understand it, letters are going out between today and 22nd May

I’m interested what people will understand by “The cap won’t apply to you if you, your partner or any children you are responsible for qualify for Working Tax Credit”.

I had a long series of exchanges with DWP last year about the statements they were making which referred to “receiving Working Tax Credit”.  They apologised about that and said that they meant “entitled to” which seemed to boil down to the hours requirement in the end (it is perfectly possible of course to float off WTC because of higher earnings and still have more than £500 in benefits).

The 16 - 24 hour working couples with several children could be hit, even though they may have lost the couple applicable amount of JSA (unless they’ve got the partner claiming which will typically only work for those with SMI), but I’m interested to know how DWP can identify, to LAs, those who float off the top so that they’re not hit by the cap.

(I’m also trying to work out how “children you are responsible for qualify for Working Tax Credit”)

here’s a copy of the letter in welsh ..

Diolch yn fawr Shawn.

(it says the same)

check out our new audioboo !!

http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/docs/audioboo

Fel un o drigolion Lerpwl, gall y brifddinas Gogledd Cymru, wyf yn cymryd munud i ddweud sut siomedig llwyr ac yr wyf yn siomedig gyda’r cap budd-dal. Mae wedi ei gynllunio yn wael, a wnaed yn wael ac mae’n edrych yn ofnadwy. Yr wyf fi, am un ni, yn sicr yn ei wisgo.

Ydych chi’n mynd i sefyll yn y cornel hefyd?

As long as I can have some xmas pie.

The mind boggles!

maybe this is the key to welfare reform - all the legislation, claim form completion by claimants etc must be in Welsh

Back to the main point of the letter.

In November Lord Freud said that those getting help with childcare would be amongst the groups exempt from the cap.

I wrote on my blog

“Speaking in yesterday’s Lords Grand Committee session looking at the benefits cap, Lord Freud, the minister, said that childcare support would be excluded from the cap.

In an exchange with Lord Mackenzie he said

The noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, asked about childcare-specifically whether those working a small number of hours will be eligible for support for childcare costs through the universal credit. I confirm that support for childcare through the universal credit will not be affected by the cap.

Lord Freud: It is the former. It may be helpful if I explain now that we feel that the best way to support these households is to exempt them completely from the impacts of the cap, rather than attempt, as these amendments do, to alter its design to accommodate their particular circumstances. For the groups to whom the cap applies, this measure creates a very strong incentive to work. ”

Does the letter mean that it’s only an exemption in UC?  That doesn’t seem to match his promise

In new DWP press release about benefit cap letters, Lord Freud says -

‘We are now writing to all claimants who are affected by the benefit cap setting out the exemptions and offering intensive advice on a supported return to work for those who are affected - but our message is clear, from April 2013, the state will no longer pay households more than the average wage in benefits.’

here’s a link to -

Government gives one year’s notice of benefit cap

How are they defining ‘household’? The way they are using it seems to sound more like what I understand to be a ‘benefit family’ ie partner and dependant children. 

My understanding of a household was that is was quite possible for a non dependant to be part of your household.

Guardian reporting advice workers concerns that DWP benefit cap letters ‘going to the wrong people’, having been sent to 2,000 families with disabled children who will be exempt and to households below the benefit cap level -

see rightsnet news story -

http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/news/story/DWP-letters-to-people-affected-by-next-years-benefit-cap-going-to-the-wro/