Single mothers worst hit in new UK benefits cap
Summary of story from The Independent, August 4, 2011
Single mothers and ethnic minorities will be the hardest hit if new measures to cap benefit payments go ahead in Britain.
That is the conclusion of the Government’s own analysis of the controversial policy to impose an annual limit on benefit payments to the unemployed.
The plan, which caps the total household benefits to families where no-one works at £500 a week (£26,000 a year) for couples and £350 a week (£18,200 a year) for lone adults, has provoked anger.
Charities are warning that the plan will increase poverty and the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has calculated that 60 per cent of claimants whose benefit will be reduced will be single women, almost all of whom are bringing up children.
Liberal Democrat and Labour opponents have vowed to try to defeat the policy in the House of Lords next month.
18,200 tax free is hardly a bad salary overall, 26,000 is way above the national median. How can this increase poverty when we use a relative measure for poverty?