THE benefits cap that is pushing thousands of families into rent arrears and debt must be scrapped to prevent more households suffering eviction and hardship, Labour told the government today.

The party called on ministers to use the four-week extension of the so-called eviction ban announced last week as an opportunity to finally abolish the cap.

Shadow employment minister Seema Malhotra wrote to the government calling for urgent clarification of how many households affected by the benefit cap are at risk of losing their homes once the eviction ban lapses.

She argued that, without lifting the cap, the brief suspension of private-sector evictions will only be “postponing the inevitable” amid the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. 

Labour said that there has been a 93 per cent rise in households hit by the benefit cap between February and May this year, with them losing £248 a month on average.

The overwhelming majority (86 per cent) of these households have children, with two-thirds being single-parent families. 

The benefit cap, which only applies to claims for housing benefit or universal credit, is £384.62 a week for a couple or household with children outside London, while in the capital, it is £442.31.

Benefits payable to single people outside London are capped £257.69 a week, while those inside can receive up to £296.35 a week.

Ms Malhotra added: “Labour has repeatedly called on the government to scrap the benefit cap and extend the ban on evictions to avoid a wave of homelessness. This policy pushes families and children into poverty. 

“With the extension of the ban on evictions the government must scrap the benefit cap to prevent further rent arrears and evictions at a time when families need support the most.” 

The government has confirmed that the eviction ban, which was introduced in April and due to end on August 23, will be extended to September 20.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has described the extension as “necessary” but too brief, warning that there was “a real risk that this will simply give renters a few more weeks to pack their bags.”

Think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research called on the government to extend the evictions ban for another six months and to cover half of the private-sector rent paid by benefit claimants, up from the current 30 per cent.