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.
Key findings for the Lancashire-12 area (February 2025)
- 1,092 households on benefits had their benefits capped, which was just 0.89% of households receiving universal credit (UC), and was 69 households more than the previous quarter.
- 36.6% of capped households were capped by £50 or more a week.
- 82.6% (900) of capped households included between 2 and 4 children while 15.1% (165) had 5 or more. This makes over 97% of capped households that include 2 or more dependent children.
- 69.7% (760) of capped households constituted a single parent with child dependants.
Key findings for the Lancashire-14 area (February 2025)
- 1,538 households had their benefits capped, which was just 0.92% of households receiving UC, and was 73 households more than the previous quarter.
- 36.9% of capped households were capped by £50 or more a week.
- 83.3% (1,270) of capped households included between 2 and 4 children while 15.3% (235) had 5 or more. This makes over 98% of capped households that include 2 or more dependent children.
- 5% (1,060) of capped households constituted a single parent with child dependants.
Key findings for households with benefits capped in Great Britain
Households may flow on and off the benefit cap on more than one occasion as circumstances change. The following bullet points refer to figures for Great Britain as a whole for February 2025.
- 115,221 households had their universal credit or housing benefit capped at February 2025. They constituted 1.8% of all households claiming universal credit. This is an increase of 5,557 households on the previous quarter (November 2024).
- 796,400 households have had their benefits capped between 15 April 2013, when the benefit cap was introduced, and February 2025.
- 42.9% of capped households were capped by £50 or more a week.
- 76.9% (88,600) of capped households included between 1 and 4 children and 6.7% (7,800) had 5 or more children. 83.6% (96,300) of capped households therefore included children.
- 68.6% (79,000) of capped households constituted a single parent with child dependants.
- 56.4% (44,500) of single-parent capped households have at least one child aged under 5 years, including 12.2% (9,600) with a child aged under 1 year at February 2025.
Lancashire-14 households with capped benefits
As at February 2025, 1,538 households in the Lancashire-14 area, and 1,092 households in the Lancashire-12 area had their benefits capped.
Blackburn with Darwen (232) had the highest number of households with capped benefits in the Lancashire-14 area in February 2025, followed by Blackpool (218) and Preston (209).
In contrast, Ribble Valley (19) and Fylde (40) had the lowest number of households with capped benefits in the Lancashre-14 area. The figures for the remaining local authorities within the Lancashire-14 area are contained alongside the GB and North West figures in table 1 below.
Table 1: Households with capped benefits, quarterly data (points in time) - February 2024 to February 2025
| Area | Households with capped benefits – February 2024 | Households with capped benefits – May 2024 | Households with capped benefits – August 2024 | Households with capped benefits - November 2024 | Households with capped benefits – February 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burnley | 78 | 111 | 118 | 110 | 110 |
| Chorley | 40 | 77 | 79 | 78 | 74 |
| Fylde | 24 | 36 | 30 | 42 | 40 |
| Hyndburn | 67 | 116 | 108 | 104 | 99 |
| Lancaster | 59 | 118 | 102 | 102 | 106 |
| Pendle | 80 | 131 | 124 | 103 | 124 |
| Preston | 128 | 209 | 227 | 198 | 209 |
| Ribble Valley | 16 | 28 | 23 | 15 | 19 |
| Rossendale | 33 | 62 | 61 | 58 | 54 |
| South Ribble | 38 | 71 | 75 | 69 | 69 |
| West Lancashire | 56 | 87 | 89 | 77 | 86 |
| Wyre | 62 | 80 | 75 | 61 | 83 |
| Lancashire-12 | 694 | 1,133 | 1,114 | 1,023 | 1,092 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 152 | 242 | 244 | 234 | 232 |
| Blackpool | 139 | 241 | 223 | 213 | 218 |
| Lancashire-14 | 984 | 1,616 | 1,584 | 1,465 | 1,538 |
| North West | 5,580 | 9,689 | 9,593 | 8,784 | 9,200 |
| Great Britain | 73,973 | 117,458 | 117,680 | 109,664 | 115,221 |
Note: Numbers have been randomly adjusted to avoid the release of confidential data and therefore individual cells may not sum to totals.
Source: Department for Work and Pensions, benefit cap statistics
Quarterly and long-term change in the number of households with capped benefits
Over the last quarter, the number of households with capped benefits increased slightly in Great Britain, rising by 5,557 (5.1%), but was nearly double compared to the 66,135 households in February 2017.
In the Lancashire-14 area, the number of households with capped benefits rose by a similar 5.0% over the previous quarter, but was up by about a third compared to 1,124 households in February 2017.
In the Lancashire-12 area, the number of capped households increased by 6.7%, rising by 69 households since the last quarter, and by a half (50.4%) compared to the 726 households in February 2017.
Within the Lancashire-14 area, Wyre (22), Pendle (21) and Preston (11) saw the largest quarterly increases in the number of households with capped benefits.
There was no change in Burnley or South Ribble but the number of capped households fell slightly in Blackburn with Darwen, Fylde, Hyndburn, Chorley and fell more sharply by 6.9% in Rossendale.
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 (August 2025), for persons who live outside of Greater London, the benefit cap levels are:
- £423.46 per week (£22,020 a year) for couples, whose children live with them, or do not live with them.
- £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 but who not live with that person.
Page updated August 2025