One hundred thousand children will be pushed into poverty by the benefits cap, according to a leaked government analysis of the impact of the coalition’s flagship reform.
The Lords will vote tomorrow on the £500-a-week limit on benefits, a measure ministers say will encourage people back into work. However, figures produced for internal use by the Department for Work and Pensions reveal that thousands of children in families on benefits will be pushed into poverty, defined as homes where the income is below 60% of the median household income for families of a similar size.
Enver Solomon, director of policy at the Children’s Society, said: “These figures show the government has clear evidence that the cap on out-of-work benefits, which affects three times as many children as adults, will be devastating, punishing children for decisions they have no control over.”
Last night the government claimed the leaked figures were not “safe” for publication but the revelation will inevitably fuel the row over the reform. Peers debating the cap having already inflicted a series of defeats on the government’s welfare bill in recent weeks and it will be a major embarrassment if there are further setbacks. One of the key amendments that is believed to be gathering support in the Lords, put down by the bishop of Ripon and Leeds, would exclude child benefit from the overall cap on benefits.
Solomon told the Observer: “Child benefit which is paid to parents but provided specifically for children must be excluded from the cap. Peers must now make a stand to protect the plight of the country’s disadvantaged children.”
