Duncan Smith rules out regional benefit cap

Speaking in the Commons, the Work and Pensions Secretary admitted that the Government’s £26,000-a-year benefit cap – introduced to limit the amount a single household can claim – was hitting few people in areas of the country where housing costs are relatively low.

But he indicated it would simply be too “complicated” to introduce different caps for different parts of the country, due to the huge differences in housing benefit claims even within regions such as Yorkshire.

“The trouble is, where should regional calculations be made?” Mr Duncan Smith asked. “Cities in regions have different levels of income from some of the countryside. It starts to become quite a complicated process.”

The Tory right-winger added that simply reducing the cap, so that it has more impact in areas with lower housing costs, could be devastating for families in London and the South East, where rental costs – and so housing benefit claims – remain sky-high.

“We should remember that there are differences in income, and in London a lower cap would be a rather severe penalty to put on people,” he said. “Therefore, although I keep the cap under review, I have no plans at the moment to change its level.”

The idea of a regionally-set cap was first suggested by Labour – despite the Opposition party having initially resisted the whole idea of a maximum cap on benefits.

Mr Duncan Smith said he was prepared to “look at” any suggestions from Labour, but added: “Right now the cap is successful, the majority of the public think it is a good idea, and it was only (Labour’s) frontbench team who decided to vote against it.”

[email protected]