FAMILIES have borne the brunt of benefit caps in Ceredigion over the last five years, new figures show.

The vast majority of households affected include young children, with charities warning that the cuts risk leaving families homeless or hauling them below the poverty line.

Figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show that between the introduction of the cap in April 2013 and February this year, 90 families had their housing benefits docked in Ceredigion.

Couples with children are limited to an annual income from all benefits of £20,000, or £385 a week. In London, the cap is higher, at £23,000.

There are lower rates for single parents and households without children.

Over the last five years, 35 households in Ceredigion were docked more than £50 a week.

The majority of capped claimants, 62 per cent, were single parents with children. Couples with children accounted for a further 37 per cent of cases.

The chief executive of Shelter, Polly Neate, said: “At Shelter we hear every day from families who have been hauled below the poverty line by the cap on housing benefit, with many struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.

“The cap is a cruel and ineffective way of achieving what the government claims is their aim of getting people into work, and doesn’t account for the wildly varying rent levels across the country.”

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