Last night Peers dismissed the Government’s
benefit cap proposals - but the fight continues.
24 January 2012
A cross-party coalition of Peers yesterday
voted in favour of excluding child benefit from a proposed
household benefits cap of £26,000 a year.
The amendment, tabled by Bishop of Ripon and
Leeds, the Rt Rev John Packer, was backed by Liberal Democrat,
Labour and crossbench peers by 252 votes to 237.
This would mean child benefit would not be
counted in the calculation of the cap. In particular, it would help
larger families struggling to make ends meet.
The vote came on the day the Government
admitted it had under-estimated the impact of the cap in its
previous assessments, revising its estimation from 50,000 to
67,000 households.
Federation Chief Executive David Orr said:
'We’ve long been arguing that the cap could
lead to a rise in rent arrears, homelessness and child poverty. And
the Government's admission that the overall benefit cap will
hit many more households than originally thought underlines our
deep concerns.
'The cap will simply make it more difficult
for many families to find and keep a roof over their heads. It is a
crude measure which will impact disproportionately on households
with higher than average housing costs and those with children.
'Yesterday’s result is a crucial step on the
road to revising this badly designed policy and we
will continue the campaign to ensure the decision is protected
in the Commons.'