Households affected by the household benefit cap

The request was successful.

Dear Birmingham City 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.

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

Yours faithfully,

Jenny Pennington

Benefit Service Policy, Birmingham City Council

 

 

Thank you for your request for information held by the Council under the
provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This has been referred
to an appropriate officer within the Revenues and Benefits Service in
order to provide you with the requested data.

 

Your request

 

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|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. |
| |
|  |
| |
|  |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

 

 

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case, we
will let you know. A fees notice will be issued to you, and you will be
required to pay before we will proceed to deal with your request.

 

If you require any further information or are not happy with our response
please do not hesitate to contact a member of our team via our mailbox
[1][email address]  quoting the reference number
above in any future communications.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Strategy Development Team

 

 

 

Data Protection Act 1998

The information you have provided within your Freedom of Information
request will be held on our database and may also be held within manual
records for a period of 2 years from the date Birmingham City Council
received your request. Any personal data that you provide to Birmingham
City Council will be held in line with the requirements set out within the
Data Protection Act 1998.

 

Re Use of Public Sector Information

Where Birmingham City Council is the copyright holder of any information
that may be released, re-use for personal, educational or non-commercial
purposes is permitted without further reference to the City Council. Where
the re-use is for other purposes, such as commercial re-use, the applicant
should notify the City Council in writing to seek approval or agree terms
for re-use.

 

 

 

show quoted sections

References

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Benefit Service Policy, Birmingham City Council

1 Attachment

Dear Jenny Pennington

 

Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Request for Information FOI 16299

 

 

I am responding to your request for information held by the Council under
the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

 

The original request:

 

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|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. |
| |
|  |
| |
|  |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

 

This has been referred to an appropriate officer, who has provided the
following data in order to answer your enquiry.

 

The response:

 

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  |
| |
|  |
| |
|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). |
| |
|  |
| |
|On 14/02/17 2,968 households were being capped |
| |
|  |
| |
|•               The average reduction in these households’ benefit |
|award, and the number of these households who have a reduction of £100 |
|or more a week. |
| |
|  |
| |
|£60.52 per week |
| |
|  |
| |
|On 14/02/17 607 caps were for £100 or more a week in Housing Benefit |
| |
|  |
| |
|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. |
| |
|  |
| |
|As you’ll appreciate the figures change on a daily basis because of |
|admissions into and departures from Temporary Accommodation, suspension |
|of Housing Benefit claims and the cancellation of Housing Benefit. |
| |
|  |
| |
|Based on the set of reports and data we currently hold; on 14/02/17 |
|there are 156 capped households living in Temporary Accommodation |
| |
|  |
| |
|•               The average reduction in these households’ benefit |
|award. |
| |
|  |
| |
|£125.20 per week |
| |
|  |
| |
|2.             If you have carried out an assessment of the impact of |
|lowering the cap in your local authority, please provide this document. |
| |
|  |
| |
|A number of impact assessment briefings were circulated after receiving |
|potential numbers from the Department for Work and Pensions. |
| |
|  |
| |
|Attached is an anonymised briefing that was circulated in September 2016|
|which gives a detailed profile of the potential impacts across the city.|
| |
|  |
| |
|  |
| |
|  |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

 

 

If you are not satisfied with this response you may ask for an internal
review. Please contact the corporate team at the address below:

 

Performance & Information (WS)

PO Box 16366

Birmingham

B2 2YY

or

[1][email address]

 

If subsequently you are not satisfied with the Council’s decision you may
apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the ICO
cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure
provided by the Council.

 

The Information Commissioner can be contacted at the following address:

 

The Information Commissioner

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

Telephone: 01625 545745

Web Address: [2]www.ico.org.uk

 

Yours sincerely

 

Strategy Development Team

Tel: 0121 464 2152

 

 

Please respond to Benefit Service Policy, NOT to individuals

 

 

 

Data Protection Act 1998

The information you have provided within your Freedom of Information
request will be held on our database and may also be held within manual
records for a period of 2 years from the date Birmingham City Council
received your request. Any personal data that you provide to Birmingham
City Council will be held in line with the requirements set out within the
Data Protection Act 1998.

 

Re use of Public Sector Information

Where Birmingham City Council is the copyright holder of any information
that may be released, re-use for personal, educational or non-commercial
purposes is permitted without further reference to the City Council. Where
the re-use is for other purposes, such as commercial re-use, the applicant
should notify the City Council in writing to seek approval or agree terms
for re-use.

 

 

 

 

 

show quoted sections

 

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References

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2. http://www.ico.gov.uk/