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. Regional and nationals figures here include the household counts from both types of capping.
The latest figures are for May 2026.
Capped households
There were 1,914 households on benefits that had their benefits capped in Lancashire-12. As a proportion of the number of households receiving universal credit, 1.4% of these households had their benefits capped (England = 2.5%). In Lancashire-14, 2,614 households had their benefits capped. This was 1.4% of the total number of households receiving universal credit.
Blackburn with Darwen (403) had the highest number of households with capped benefits in the Lancashire-14 area, followed by Preston (333) and Blackpool (297). In contrast, Ribble Valley (44) had the lowest.
In Lancashire-12, 61.1% of capped households were capped by £50 or more a week. This was similar to Lancashire-14 (61.3%). A smaller proportion of capped households were capped by £50 or more a week in England (53.3%).
Households with capped benefits, May 2025 to May 2026
| Area | May-25 | Aug-25 | Nov-25 | Feb-26 | May-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burnley | 102 | 94 | 88 | 91 | 219 |
| Chorley | 72 | 66 | 57 | 62 | 128 |
| Fylde | 45 | 42 | 41 | 39 | 75 |
| Hyndburn | 96 | 94 | 97 | 94 | 205 |
| Lancaster | 114 | 113 | 107 | 103 | 193 |
| Pendle | 135 | 111 | 99 | 101 | 225 |
| Preston | 212 | 216 | 198 | 199 | 333 |
| Ribble Valley | 22 | 21 | 19 | 21 | 44 |
| Rossendale | 64 | 71 | 58 | 55 | 123 |
| South Ribble | 65 | 60 | 57 | 48 | 119 |
| West Lancashire | 87 | 83 | 75 | 80 | 130 |
| Wyre | 70 | 69 | 59 | 65 | 120 |
| Lancashire-12 | 1084 | 1040 | 955 | 958 | 1914 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 218 | 210 | 187 | 188 | 403 |
| Blackpool | 224 | 215 | 208 | 216 | 297 |
| Lancashire-14 | 1,526 | 1,465 | 1,350 | 1,362 | 2,614 |
| North West | 9,385 | 9,021 | 8,249 | 8,497 | 14,666 |
| England | 110,114 | 107,581 | 100,592 | 105,086 | 151,965 |
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, 99.2% (1,888) of capped households included 2 or more dependent children. This figure was 98.4% (2,570) in Lancashire-14. These proportions were higher than in England (72.1%).
Households with 3 children accounted for the largest proportion of capped households in Lancashire-12 (49.8%) and Lancashire-14 (49.8%). This was higher than England (27.9%).
Single parent households with children accounted for 80.0% (1,531) of capped households in Lancashire-12 and 79.5% (2,077) in Lancashire-14. This was higher than England (69.2%).
Change over time
The number of households capped has seen a sharp increase recently, both nationally and locally. In Lancashire-12, the number of capped households almost doubled from the previous quarter, increasing by 99.8% (England = 44.6%). A similar increase was seen in Lancashire-14 (91.9%). Compared to the previous year, the number of capped households increased by 76.6% in Lancashire-12 and 71.3% in Lancashire-14, while England saw a smaller annual increase of 38.0%.
In April 2026, the two-child limit on Universal Credit and tax credits was removed. This allowed eligible families to claim the child element for every child. As a result, more households with three or more children have seen their total benefit award rise above the benefit cap threshold. In addition, universal credit was rebalanced, alongside the annual uplift in benefit amounts each April. Further details can be found on the Gov.uk website.
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 (July 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 29 September 2026