Households affected by the household benefit cap

The request was successful.

Dear Craven District Council,

I am a researcher at the housing charity Shelter. We are seeking to understand the impact of the household benefit cap on local authorities in England. We would be incredibly grateful for your help.

I would like to request the following information under the Freedom of information Act 2000.

1. Please provide the most recent data available for your local authority:

All households
• The number of households who have their benefits reduced by the Household Benefit Cap introduced by the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 in your area. (Please include both households who were already subject to the previous benefit cap of £26,000/£18,200, and those newly affected by the lowered cap).
• The average reduction in these households’ benefit award, and the number of these households who have a reduction of £100 or more a week.

Homeless households in temporary accommodation
• The number of homeless households accommodated by your authority in temporary accommodation who have their benefits reduced by the Household Benefit Cap.
• The average reduction in these households’ benefit award.

2. If you have carried out an assessment of the impact of lowering the cap in your local authority, please provide this document.

Many thanks - I look forward to receiving your reply in the next 20 working days.

Yours faithfully,

Jenny Pennington

accesstoinfo, Craven District Council

Thank you for contacting CravenDistrict Council. We confirm that we have received your correspondence.

If you have made a request for information held by the Council, we will formally acknowledge your request as soon as possible. We will also write to you if we need any further information to enable us to answer your request. If we do not need any further information, we will aim to respond to you within the relevant timescale for handling such requests as advetised on the Council's website.

If there is anything that you would like to discuss with us in the meantime, you can contact us during normal office hours on 01756 700600.

Vicky Davies, Craven District Council

Dear Jenny Pennington

Thank you for your request for information received on 7th February 2017. This request will be dealt with in accordance with either the Freedom of Information Act (‘the Act’) or the Environmental Information Regulations (‘the Regulations’) (whichever is appropriate). You asked for:-

Information regarding the household benefit cap

You can expect a reply by 7th March 2017 unless I need to come back either to you to clarify your request or the Council needs more time to deal with your request. In this latter eventuality, for requests dealt with under the Act, delays can sometimes arise where the public interest needs to be considered. In the case of requests dealt with under the Regulations, a delay can arise if the Council believes that the complexity and volume of the information requested means that it is impractical to comply with the request by the date specified, or to make a decision to refuse to do so.

If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number above.

If you are not happy with this response you may request an internal review by emailing [Craven District Council request email] or by writing to the Freedom of Information Officer, Craven District Council, Belle Vue Square, Broughton Road, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 1FJ. Any request for a review should be submitted within two months of the date of this letter.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office for a decision. Generally the Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted our own complaints procedure. The Information Commissioner’s Office can be contacted at the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Website: https://ico.org.uk/

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Officer
Craven District Council

Vicky Davies
Committee Administrator
t: 01756 7001756706486
e: [email address]

Craven District Council
1 Belle Vue Square, Broughton Road, Skipton, BD23 1FJ
www.cravendc.gov.uk

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David Carre, Craven District Council

Dear Jenny,

Thank you for your email dated 07/02/2016.

Please find attached the information requested.

1) 26 households listed to be affected by the cap. Average cap reduction £63.60 per week and there were 5 reductions over £100.00. None of those affected by the cap are in temporary accommodation

2) A far as I'm aware no such assessment has been done in Craven.

Regards

David Carré

If you are not happy with this response you may request an internal review by emailing [Craven District Council request email] or by writing to the Freedom of Information Officer, Craven District Council, Belle Vue Square, Broughton Road, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 1FJ. Any request for a review should be submitted within two months of the date of this letter.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office for a decision. Generally the Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted our own complaints procedure. The Information Commissioner’s Office can be contacted at the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Website: https://ico.org.uk/

David Carré
Revenues and Benefits Manager
Craven District Council
1 Belle Vue Square
Broughton Road
Skipton
North Yorkshire
BD23 1FJ
Tel – 01756 706482

David Carre
Revenues Benefits and Customer Services Manager
t: 01756 7001756706482
e: [email address]

Craven District Council
1 Belle Vue Square, Broughton Road, Skipton, BD23 1FJ
www.cravendc.gov.uk

This e-mail, including any attachments, is confidential
and intended only for the attention and use of the named addressee(s). It may
contain information covered by legal, professional or other privilege. If you
are not an addressee, please inform the sender immediately and destroy this
e-mail. Do not read, copy, use, retain or disclose this e-mail or any part of
it. Its contents do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Craven
District Council. All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no
viruses are present in this e-mail. Craven District Council cannot accept
responsibility for loss or damage arising from the use of this e-mail or
attachments and recommend that you subject these to virus checking
procedures prior to use.

Please be aware that all communications sent to or from Craven District
Council may be subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance with
relevant legislation.

show quoted sections