Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to assess the impact of the lower benefit cap on the length of a victim’s stay in a domestic abuse refuge, and the resulting cost to the taxpayer.

People who are subject to the benefit cap still receive benefits that are equivalent of gross family earnings of £25K, and £29K in London. If this is not enough money to secure a tenancy, the claimant can apply for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) which can be given in advance to help secure a property. The DHP guidance explicitly states that funding should be aimed at individuals or families fleeing domestic violence.

We have commissioned the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) to carry out some research into the new lower, tiered Benefit Cap and we are working with the Institute for Fiscal Studies to peer review in-house analysis on the impacts of the lower benefit cap on capped households. It is expected that a full evaluation report will be produced around the end of 2018.