The government’s benefit cap is overwhelmingly affecting single mothers, new analysis by the Labour Party has found.
Data from the Department for Work and Pensions shows 134,044 households have had support capped by the government, with single females with at least one dependent child accounting for 85% (114,337).
After being reduced from £26,000 in 2016, the latest limits are £20,000 a year per household, or £23,000 in Greater London.
The figures show a far greater number of people being hit by the cap than previously thought.
Last August, chief executive of Child Poverty Action Group, Alison Garnham, called the limits “cruel and misguided” after it was reported nearly 50,000 single parents would be affected.
In March the government won a landmark case when a High Court decision that the cap should not apply to single parents with a child under two was overturned by the Court of Appeal.
Shadow work and pensions secretary Margaret Greenwood told the Guardian: “The Conservatives have pushed ahead with their austerity agenda with scant regard for the impact on low-income families.
“Labour will build a social security system that is there for any of us in our time of need.”
The DWP has been contacted for comment.