Capping of benefits
The benefit cap is a limit on the total amount of benefit most people aged 16 to 64 can get. The benefit cap means that, in general, households in which at least one person is in receipt of a working age benefit can no longer receive more in welfare payments than the average weekly wage for working households. Different capping levels are applied for people who live inside Greater London and those who live outside Greater London.
For most capped households the benefit cap is administered through universal credit (UC), with a household’s UC entitlement being reduced so that the total amount of benefit received is no longer higher than the cap level. For others the cap is applied to household benefit, though the numbers have become negligible at local authority level as universal credit gradually replaces other benefits. We have added together the figures from both types of capping.
The latest figures are for November 2025.
Capped households
There were 974 households on benefits had their benefits capped in Lancashire-12. As a proportion of the number of households receiving universal credit, 0.7% of these households had their benefits capped (England = 1.7%). In Lancashire-14, 1,381 households had their benefits capped. This was 0.7% of the total number of households receiving universal credit.
Preston (210) had the highest number of households with capped benefits in the Lancashire-14 area, followed by Blackpool (206) and Blackburn with Darwen (201). In contrast, Ribble Valley (18) had the lowest.
In Lancashire-12, 30.4% of capped households were capped by £50 or more a week. This was similar to Lancashire-14 (30.5%). A larger proportion of capped households were capped by £50 or more a week in England (41.8%).
Households with capped benefits, November 2024 to November 2025
| Area | Households with capped benefits - November 2024 | Households with capped benefits – February 2025 | Households with capped benefits – May 2025 | Households with capped benefits – August 2025 | Households with capped benefits – November 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burnley | 109 | 104 | 97 | 93 | 90 |
| Chorley | 76 | 69 | 68 | 61 | 60 |
| Fylde | 36 | 40 | 44 | 42 | 42 |
| Hyndburn | 96 | 89 | 99 | 101 | 94 |
| Lancaster | 103 | 102 | 117 | 114 | 110 |
| Pendle | 99 | 117 | 141 | 115 | 105 |
| Preston | 190 | 198 | 201 | 213 | 210 |
| Ribble Valley | 13 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 18 |
| Rossendale | 59 | 55 | 66 | 64 | 58 |
| South Ribble | 63 | 63 | 62 | 54 | 52 |
| West Lancashire | 76 | 75 | 83 | 83 | 73 |
| Wyre | 61 | 70 | 76 | 72 | 62 |
| Lancashire-12 | 981 | 993 | 1,084 | 1,035 | 974 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 213 | 216 | 224 | 219 | 201 |
| Blackpool | 212 | 208 | 227 | 221 | 206 |
| Lancashire-14 | 1,406 | 1,417 | 1,535 | 1,475 | 1,381 |
| North West | 8,533 | 8,567 | 9,446 | 9,160 | 8,552 |
| England | 100,808 | 102,537 | 111,349 | 109,723 | 104,856 |
Note: Numbers have been randomly adjusted to avoid the release of confidential data.
Source: Benefit cap statistics (quarterly point in time universal credit and housing benefit caseloads), from the Department for Work and Pensions, via Stat-Xplore.
Household composition
In Lancashire-12, 98.7% (953) of capped households included 2 or more dependent children. This figure was 97.9% (1,352) in Lancashire-14. These proportions are higher than England (70.6%).
Households with 3 children accounted for the largest proportion of capped households in Lancashire-12 (39.2%) and Lancashire-14 (39.8%). This was higher than England (23.0%).
Single parent households with children accounted for 69.9% (681) of capped households in Lancashire-12 and 70.7% (977) in Lancashire-14. This was higher than England (67.1%).
Change over time
In Lancashire-12, the number of capped households decreased by 5.9% from the previous quarter and Lancashire-14 had a decrease of 6.4% (England = 4.4% decrease).
Compared to the previous year, the number of capped households decreased by 0.7% in Lancashire-12 and 1.8% in Lancashire-14, while England saw an annual increase of 4.0%.
Further Information
The benefit cap was introduced in April 2013 as a single cap level. From 7 November 2016, lower benefit cap levels were applied, with different levels depending on where a person lives.
At the time of writing (February 2026), for persons who live outside of Greater London, the benefit cap levels are:
- £423.46 per week (£22,020 a year) for couples.
- £423.46 per week (£22,020 a year) for a single person with children who live with that person.
- £283.71 per week (£14,753 a year) for a single person who does not have children, or who has children that do not live with that person.
Page updated 15 April 2026