12 September 2011
"Scrap the Cap" say UK Churches as Lords debate Welfare Reform Bill
Methodist and United Reformed Churches are urging the House of
Lords to ask the Government to scrap plans to cap benefits payments
at £500 per week when they debate the Welfare Reform Bill
tomorrow.
Under new legislation the Government is seeking to cap benefits
payments at £500 per week, regardless of the need or size of the
family receiving the payments.
"Why are cuts to UK spending being targeted at the most vulnerable
in society, rather than those more able to pay?" asked Paul
Morrison, Public Issues Policy Adviser for the Methodist Church in
Britain. "These plans will radically change the nature of our
benefits system for the worse. Instead of a system which is based
on people's circumstances it will become a system that is
intentionally blind to the needs of hundreds of thousands of
people."
The Churches cite evidence that the benefit capping policy is part
of a package of policies which will lead to a reduction in the
living standards of the poorest much more than those of the
richest. The Institute for Fiscal Studies have produced
authoritative data showing that the poorest in society will see a
12% reduction in cash terms in their already low living standards,
compared with only 4% for those in the wealthiest 10% of
society.
"This is blatantly unjust," said Simon Loveitt, Public Issues
Spokesperson for the United Reformed Church. "These effects are
contrary to the commitments that the Government has already made to
those most vulnerable. A rethink of benefit cap policy is urgently
required to protect the life chances of children and adults across
our nation."
The Children's Society has produced data showing that the least
well off children will be disproportionately affected. Their data,
based on the Government's own figures, shows that:
• Children will be 9 times more likely to be affected by benefit
caps than adults.
• 69,000 adults and 206,000 children will have their household
incomes reduced by an average of £93 a week.
• 27,000 adults and 82,000 children will be made homeless, based on
figures from the Department for Communities and Local
Government.
• Children already living in poverty are likely to be pushed into
severe poverty - living in households on less than 40% of average
income.
"The Government has spoken of creating incentives for families to
stay together but benefit caps create perverse incentives for
family breakup," continued Rachel Lampard, Joint Public Issues Team
Leader. "Under the new measures, a family with four children would
be better off if it split into two single-parent households. It is
on all these grounds that we urge members of the House of Lords to
ask the Government to reconsider the Benefit Capping measure
contained within the Welfare Reform Bill."