The Conservative Party has unveiled a plan to close a £1 billion loophole in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits system. Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately has pledged to end the 'golden ticket' that allows households to escape the benefit cap if just one member receives disability payments.
New Work Requirements
Under the proposals, all adults in a household who are deemed able to work must be employed for at least 16 hours a week. If they fail to do so, the household will be subject to a cap on their total benefits. Whately stated: 'If any adult in a household can work, they must.'
Closing the Loophole
Currently, DWP rules allow a household to avoid the benefit limit if one adult receives disability benefit, even if other adults in the family are capable of working. The Conservatives aim to stop this practice, which Whately described as a 'golden ticket to uncapped benefits for a whole household.'
Whately explained: 'Currently, households can escape the cap if one person works 16 hours a week at the National Living Wage. That means one adult can work part-time while another – who could work – stays home. And just like that, the household can get benefits that exceed the income of a double-earning family.'
Impact on Households
Whately highlighted that tens of thousands of households are claiming over £50,000 in benefits, equivalent to a pre-tax salary of over £65,000. She argued: 'Our country cannot go on like this. Not only is this unfair – for many, working is no longer economically rational.'
A source added: 'The Conservatives created the Universal Credit system – which has left too many people shamefully signed off and written off without support to get into work. We are fixing the system and investing £2.5bn in the Youth Guarantee to support young people into work, training and apprenticeships; rebalancing the incentives in the system and introducing a right to try work without triggering a reassessment.'
