Benefit cap - Supreme Court ruling

Responding to today’s Supreme Court ruling on the benefit cap, Chartered Institute of Housing deputy chief executive Gavin Smart called on the government to scrap the benefit cap, saying the impact it is having is “fundamentally unfair.”

He said: “The benefit cap has increased poverty and hardship among the poorest households across Great Britain. Some people are going without food or heating so they can pay for their housing, or falling behind with their rent and being put at risk of homelessness.

“The government’s own figures show that the majority of households affected by the benefit cap are single-parent families – many with very young children – and people who are too unwell to work. Quite simply, the cap is punishing those who will find it most difficult to find work. We believe the impact is fundamentally unfair – it’s time for the government to scrap the benefit cap.”