What is the benefit cap?
A look at what the benefit cap is, what it will mean for those receiving benefits and what the political reaction to the cap has been.
DWP: 1% benefits cap could save £1.1 billion
The Department for Work and Pensions has calculated the savings that the exchequer could expect if the benefit cap passes this evening.
Benefits cheats 'should be named and shamed'
Benefits cheats should be shamed by having their photo pinned to every lamppost in their street, an official at the DWP said.
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What is the benefit cap?
A look at what the benefit cap is, what it will mean for those receiving benefits and what the political reaction to the cap has been.
Read the full storyBenefit cap is 'strong incentive for people to work'
Iain Duncan Smith has claimed that the benefit cap has already pushed more people in to work before it starts in four London boroughs on Monday.
– Iain Duncan Smith, Secretary for Work and PensionsThe benefit cap sets a clear limit for how much support the welfare state will provide – the average wage for working households.
But it's also a strong incentive for people to move into work and even before the cap comes in we are seeing thousands of people seeking help and moving off benefits.
We have a very clear message: we will provide support to those who need it, but the days of outrageous claims giving people incomes far above those of working families are over.
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Benefit cap will affect '40,000 households nationally'
The benefit cap, which will limit the amount claimants can receive will affect 40,000 households when it is rolled out nationally according to the Department for Work and Pensions.
Initial forecasts last summer estimated the number of households that would have their benefits capped at £500 a week, or £350 for single people, were 56,000.
The cap will be piloted in four London boroughs on Monday before being rolled out nationally on 15th July.
DWP: 1% benefits cap could save £1.1 billion
The Department for Work and Pensions has calculated the savings that the exchequer could expect if the benefit cap passes this evening.
Read the full storyBenefits cheats 'should be named and shamed'
Benefits cheats should be shamed by having their photo pinned to every lamppost in their street, an official at the DWP said.
Read the full storyThe Government's welfare reform plan
The Government's welfare reform plan is due to replace several different benefits in 2013 including Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, Child Tax Credit, Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance, and Working Tax Credit.
The Coalition Government has identified two key problems with the current system: work incentives are poor, and the system is too complex.
They are reforming the system to help people to move into and progress in work, while supporting the most vulnerable.
Universal Credit is also intended to encourage claimants to work, by allowing them to keep more of their benefits when they start to earn.
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'Pin photos of benefit cheats to lampposts'
– Terry Moran, Director General, Chief Operating Officer at DWPIf I had my way I would put their photograph onevery lamppost in the street where they live because it is a very distressingthing for genuinely disabled people to see the reputation of disabled peopledamaged in the way that [it] is by those people."
Government 'will work hard to tackle benefits cheats'
– A spokesman from the DWPBenefit fraud takes money away from the most vulnerable and costs the taxpayer over a £1billion a year.
"We work hard to tackle this problem at the frontline and regularly highlight the work of our fraud investigation teams as a warning to potential benefit cheats that they will be caught."
Benefits cheats 'costs tax payer more than £1billion a year'
Calls have grown to get tough on scroungers who costs the tax payer all more than £1billion a year – enough to pay for 40 secondary schools or the salaries of 30,000 nurses, reports the Daily Express.
Benefits cheats 'should be named and shamed'
Benefits cheats should be shamed by having their photo pinned to every lamppost in their street, an official at the Department for Work and Pensions said.
