Questions to the Mayor of London – answered at on 28 February 2020.
How has the benefit cap impacted food insecurity in London?
The primary economic driver of food insecurity is poverty and low-income and we know from the impact assessment I published last year that all welfare reforms since 2010 combined (including the Benefit Cap) have reduced the incomes of some of London’s most disadvantaged households by thousands of pounds annually.
It’s difficult to measure the specific impact the Benefit Cap has had on food insecurity in London. However, we do know that the policy disproportionately affects larger families and the Survey of Londoners told us that children from large families are more likely to be living in low or very low food security.
Welfare reforms have pushed an additional 100,000 Londoners (including 75,000 children) into poverty so it seems clear that the Benefit Cap and similar austerity policies have only served to increase food insecurity in London.