Benefits cap must go as too many families struggle to survive - Susan Dalgety

There are 396 Edinburgh families whose benefits were capped this year

While it was barely adequate, I could buy enough groceries at the local supermarket to last a week. Some weeks there was even some cash left over for the occasional treat, such as a bus ride into town to visit Princes Street Gardens. And we had a secure home as the rent and rates for my council flat were fully covered by housing benefit.

A government job scheme saved me from a life on benefits and provided a springboard to a fascinating, if at times insecure, career, which I am still enjoying today, nearly 40 years later. But without that initial safety net of benefits and housing support, I dread to think what would have happened to us.

Today’s social security system is much more sophisticated than it was back in the 1980s, with a range of benefits on offer, from child tax credits to personal independence payments. Most, but by no means all, are now gathered into one benefit pot which is capped at £22,000 for a one or two parent household. This limit includes housing benefit to cover rent, which in Edinburgh’s crazy private rental market is now running at around £1500 per month for a two-bedroom house – or £18,000 a year.

By my calculation, a single, stay-at-home mother of two children living in private rented accommodation could be left with as little as £4000 on which to survive before the benefit cap came into force. There are discretionary housing payments available, administered by Edinburgh City Council, but their website says that the council has a “limited amount of money to provide this help, so any payment is likely to be for a short period only”. Scotland’s unique Child Payment, which is not included in the benefit cap, does provide some relief, but not nearly enough to cover the shortfall in rent.

Little wonder that Shelter, Women’s Aid and the Child Poverty Action Group have called for the benefit cap to be lifted here in Scotland and across the rest of the UK. Figures released by the DWP show that there are 396 Edinburgh families whose benefits were capped this year, a rise of nearly 50 per cent on last year. How they are managing to survive is beyond me.

Social housing is limited in Edinburgh, so single parents, especially women survivors of domestic abuse, often have no option but to turn to the private rented sector. But with the Capital’s rents some of the highest in the UK, this option is unaffordable for many. So where do they go? Or worse, what happens if they are forced to stay in a violent household?

Last week was Poverty Challenge Week, an annual campaign co-ordinated by the Poverty Alliance. One in five Scots are trapped in poverty, where every day is a struggle just to survive. And here in our capital city, there are nearly 400 families who have to choose between keeping a roof over their head or putting food on the table. There must be a better way to support parents when they are in dire need.