Kingston Council is contacting around 300 households affected by government welfare reforms or ‘benefits cap’.   From 15 July many residents will feel the pinch of a cap which will place a limit on the total amount of benefits a household can receive, including any benefits payable towards housing.

The limits are:

• £500 a week for couples with or without children living with them
• £500 a week for single parents whose children live with them
• £350 a week for single adults without children or whose children do not live with them

The cap applies to private sector and social housing tenants, with some exceptions. Households will not be subject to the cap if one of the adults or any dependent child qualify for Working Tax Credit or receive Disability Living Allowance, Industrial Injuries Benefits, Employment Support Allowance when paid with the support component, Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments, or War Pension Scheme payments.

This follows the removal of the spare room bedroom subsidy or ‘bedroom tax’. If a household is assessed as having one bedroom more than they need, based on the number of people within their household, their housing benefit will be reduced by 14 per cent, increasing to 25 per cent for two or more bedrooms

The most important thing for anyone claiming benefits is to find out how they will be affected by the government’s reforms. We want to make sure that people have the information they need.

says Cllr Rolson Davies, Lead Member for Finance

Further changes will see the replacement of Disability Living Allowance with Personal Independence Payment and the introduction of Universal Credit, which is expected to be introduced in Kingston in January 2014.

Universal Credit will roll together a wide range of benefits into a single monthly payment and is expected to affect around 11,000 residents.

Kingston Council is keen to help and is working in partnership with the Citizens’ Advice Bureau and Surrey Credit Union to offer free money advice and budget management training to anyone who is worried about how the benefits changes will affect them. If you are interested in attending a session, call Tony Willis on 020 8547 5000 or email tony.willis@rbk.kingston.gov.uk. To contact the Surrey Credit Union visit www.surreysave.co.uk or call 01932 339290.

For more information about how the benefit cap may affect you, telephone Kingston Council on 020 8547 5001 or go to www.kingston.gov.uk/benefits or www.direct.gov.uk/benefitcap