06 November 2012

Only five families claiming £100,000 in housing benefit


Laura Sharman

Over 80% of every housing benefit (HB) claim is for less than £100 per week - with only five families claiming £100,000 a year towards housing costs - according to figures from the Department for Work and Pensions.

The figures, obtained from a Freedom of Information request from Full Fact, aim to challenge claims that high-cost families are forcing councils to relocate families to other areas.

Based on the results, families claiming £100,000 a year account for only 0.001% of the total. Full Fact said that while there is some evidence to suggest a small number of HB claimants are receiving more than £100,00 a year, these claims tend to come from larger families.

The fact-checking organisation stated: ‘While the evidence suggests that there are a small number of Housing Benefit claimants who pocket more than £100,000 per year - perhaps around five - these cases are very much the exception rather than the rule.

‘Focusing exclusively on these outliers without first putting them into context, where over 80% of claims are below £100 per week, could distort the debate around this important topic.’





Your comments

The issue is that there are five such cases. A case of the ''exception proving the rule'' How many in the ?50,000 to ?100,000 band - probably best to avoid that question if you think the status quo is a solution.

Alec Would, Added: Wednesday, 14 November 2012 08:42 PM

Pity Patrick Newman can't spell, (bailiff lead!) but I agree with him - why let the facts get in the way of a good story?

Diane Rotherham, Added: Friday, 9 November 2012 09:59 AM

Very interesting but dont expect facts to get in the way of the Daily Mail or for matter IDS. When CTB and UC interact we will have a bailiff lead economic recovery.

Patrick Newman, ex local government, Stevenage, Added: Tuesday, 6 November 2012 02:23 PM



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