Almost 800,000 households across Great Britain have been impacted by the benefit cap since its introduction in 2013. The benefit cap is a limit on the total amount of benefits that working age people can receive.
It was introduced in 2013 by the Conservative-led coalition government so that out-of-work households didn’t receive more than the average household weekly wage. It’s not to be confused with the two-child benefit cap, which only applies to child-related benefits. The cap was set at £22,020 a year nationally, or £14,753 for single adults with no children, in February 2025, the latest month for which figures are available.
The cap was higher in London though at £25,323 per year, or £16,967 for single adults with no children. The cap was initially applied to Housing Benefit, and then to Universal Credit as that was rolled out.
It has impacted a total of 796,398 households across Great Britain since its introduction, according to new figures from the Department for Work & Pensions. A total of 114,629 households were subject to the benefit cap in February of this year.
You can see how many households have been affected by the cap in each local authority in the country by using our interactive map.
That includes 2,459 households that have had their Universal Credit capped by more than £1,000 in the assessment period of November 2024 to January 2025. Some parts of the country have had more households impacted by the cap than others.
Birmingham has had a total of 22,972 households impacted by the benefit cap since 2013. That works out as one in every 20 in the city. Some 3,772 of those households were still being impacted in February of this year, with 87 of those having their Universal Credit cut by more than £1,000 in the latest assessment period as a result of the cap.
In Enfield, a total of 18,227 households have been impacted by the cap since its introduction, which is the second most of any local authority area in the country. That works out as 15% of households in the London borough, however, which is the joint highest ratio in the country. Some 2,753 households in Enfield were impacted by the cap in February this year, including 81 losing out on more than £1,000.
Brent has also seen 15% of households impacted by the benefit cap. A total of 17,798 households in the borough have been impacted since 2013. Some 2,377 are impacted still, with 109 losing out on more than £1,000 in the last assessment period.
Total households impacted by the benefit cap since 2013
Birmingham: 22,972
Enfield : 18,227
Brent : 17,798
Ealing : 14,658
Barnet : 14,303
Newham : 13,183
Haringey : 11,885
Tower Hamlets : 10,656
Croydon : 10,315
Manchester: 10,250
Hackney : 10,156
Leeds: 9,394
Lewisham : 9,187
Lambeth : 8,152
Waltham Forest : 7,979
Hounslow : 7,828
Redbridge : 7,748
Barking and Dagenham : 7,681
Harrow : 7,144
Bradford: 7,049
Total households currently affected by the benefit cap (February 2025)
Birmingham: 3,772
Enfield : 2,753
Brent: 2,377
Barnet : 2,240
Ealing : 2,084
Haringey : 2,004
Newham : 1,923
Lewisham : 1,685
Leeds: 1,635
Manchester: 1,621
Tower Hamlets : 1,510
Hackney : 1,422
Lambeth : 1,393
Croydon : 1,361
Waltham Forest : 1,287
Buckinghamshire: 1,277
Barking and Dagenham : 1,125
Bristol, City of: 1,098
Greenwich : 1,086
Wandsworth : 1,084
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