This means that benefit claims are limited to a fair level, a maximum of the average working household earnings of £500 a week.

The taxpayer who funds the welfare state has the assurance that someone in receipt of benefits no longer has an income that's beyond the reach of the average working family.

LORD FREUD CLAIMS HE IS BEING FAIR TO THE TAX PAYER WHILE HE PUNISHES THE TENANTS FOR THE FAILURES OF HIS OWN FREE MARKET OBSESSION.

The benefit cap has removed the barrier some people faced getting into work.

We are restoring the welfare state back to a safety net for people when they need it so it is no longer a system that can lead people further away from the world of work.

THERE IS NOTHING SAFE ABOUT LORD FREUD'S SAFETY NET

THE WELFARE STATE HAS PROVIDED SINGLE ADULT UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT INCOMES, NOW £71.70 A WEEK AT A FAR BELOW THE LEVEL NEEDED TO MAINTAIN GOOD HEALTH, AND STEADILY DIMINISHING IN VALUE FOR THE PAST THIRTY YEARS.

LORD FREUD HAS SET ABOUT REDUCING THAT £71.70 A WEEK WITH RUTHLESS EFFICIENCY.

THE CUMULATIVE IMPACT OF HIS POLICIES ON TENANTS ARE DEVASTATING. £71.70  IS REDUCED BY ONE, OR SEVERAL AT ONCE; THEY ARE;

THE 1% FREEZE IN THE ANNUAL INCREASES FOR THREE YEARS WHILE PRICES ESCALATE 

THE LOCAL HOUSING ALLOWANCE CAPS; THE CAPS RUN FROM £250 FOR A SINGLE BEDROOM PROPERTY A WEEK TO £400 A WEEK FOR 4 BEDROOMS OR LARGER LEAVES RENT UNPAID BY HOUSING BENEFITS; THE AMOUNT DEPENDS ON THE TOTAL RENT CHARGED BY LANDORDS. .

THE BEDROOM TAX; AN AVERAGE OF £14 A WEEK BY THE BEDROOM TAX BUT THAT OBVIOUSLY DEPENDS ON THE SIZE OF THE RENT WHEN THE CUT IN HOUSING BENEFIT IS 14% FOR ONE SPARE BEDROOM AND 25% FOR TWO OR MORE.

THE £500 OVERALL BENEFIT CAP; IN LARGE FAMILIES CAUGHT BY THE BENEFIT CAP THE PARENT''S BENEFIT IS WIPED OUT LEAVING THE RENT TO BE PAID OUT OF THE CHILDREN'S BENEFITS.

THE COUNCIL TAX; THIS TAKES BETWEEN £3 AND £10 A WEEK OUT OF THE SINGLE ADULT BENEFIT DEPENDING ON THE BANDING OF THE PROPERTY. BUT IS IS NOT ONLY  THE TAX THAT HURTS IT IS ALSO ITS ENFORCEMENT AGAINST PEOPLE WHO HAVE RENT AND UTILITY ARREARS; AND HAVE BEEN FORCED INTO FOOD BANKS.

THE MAGISTRATES LIABILITY ORDERS CAN ADD FROM £50 TO £125 TO THE COUNCIL TAX ARREARS AND THE BAILIFFS SEVERAL HUNDRED POUNDS MORE.

SANCTIONS BY ADMINISTRATIVE DICTAT AND NO JUDICIAL OR FAIR PROCEDURE CANCELS ALL INCOME.

Lord Freud's blog. 

I must be clear, the old system failed people. If benefits provide an income well above wages, sticking to receiving state support over going out to work is too easy a decision to make.

£71.70 A WEEK IS NOT WELL ABOVE WAGES AND NEVER WAS; IT IS PAID TO EVERY ADULT NO MATTER HOW MANY CHILDREN THEY HAVE.

Our reforms put getting into work at the top of the agenda.

FOR THE UNEMPLOYED IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN - STARVATION HAS NEVER BEEN AN OPTION FOR RATIONAL HUMAN BEINGS.

Universal Credit will make sure it pays to work and the benefit cap ensures a lifestyle on benefits is not a lifestyle beyond the reach of the average household.

LORD FEUD WILL CLAIM THAT WORK PAYS; NOT DIFFICULT WHEN HE HAS SHREDDED UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.

EVEN IF WORK PAYS MORE THAN UNEMPLOYMENT THE NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE IS TOTALLY DISCONNECTED FROM PRICES IN THE MARKET AND REMAINS A POVERTY WAGE EVEN WITH IN WORK BENEFITS.

HOUSING IS STILL IN SHORT SUPPLY AND RENTS GO ON RISING MEANING WORK DOES NOT PAY A LIVING WAGE. IT WILL NOT FOR MANY PEOPLE UNTIL A GOVERNMENT INTRODUCES A POLICY FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND STOPS UK AND INTERNATIONAL SPECULATORS PROFITING FROM UK LAND AND HOMES IN SHORT SUPPLY, SO INCREASING RENTS AND PRICES.

That is why alongside putting the cap in place, we made sure that people who get a job and are eligible for working tax credits are exempt. During the implementation of the benefit cap, Jobcentre Plus had a priority to help potentially affected households - and its joint work with councils to support those claimants continues.

BUT NOT COUNCIL TAX EXEMPTION, LHA CAPS EXEMPTION OR EXEMPTION FROM THE ESCALATING PRICES OF NECESSITIES AND INCREASES IN RENTS.

The teams have so far helped around 15,300 claimants identified as living in potentially capped households into work and 35,300 people have accepted an offer of employment support.

MEANWHILE TEMPORARY ACCOMMODATION IN LONDON IS EXPECTED TO COST £385 MILLION THIS YEAR, AND RISING,  AS PEOPLE FAMILIES ARE EVICTED INTO A CHAOTIC HOUSING MARKET FROM ONE BOROUGH TO ANOTHER AND OUT OF LONDON IN THEIR 1000s.

Staff are reporting that they are helping many people into jobs who have not worked for years - and who had ceased seeing moving into employment as an option. But now they are working and setting a really solid example for their families. Their lives have made a change for the better.

NOW DOUBT THAT IS TRUE BUT IT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED ANYWAY.

Alongside this impressive work, we have ensured that households who should be exempt, such as people claiming disability benefits as well as war widows and widowers, have not been affected.

UNTIL CHALLENGED IN COURT THERE WAS NO EXEMPTION FROM THE BEDROOM TAX FOR DISABLED CHILDREN. THE HIGH COURT HAS NOW ORDERED THE GOVERNMENT TO WRITE THE REGULATIONS BY THE 31ST OCTOBER.

Taxpayers now know that the benefits that they fund are not limitless. As we look to the future under Universal Credit, the welfare state will actively help people to become independent while support will be in place too for those who need it most.

THE INCREASE IN WELFARE WAS LARGELY DUE TO THE INCREASE IN HOUSING BENEFIT TO £22 BILLION BECAUSE OF THE 1980s DEREGULATION OF LENDING, THE ABOLITION OF RENT CONTROLS AND ALLOWING THE FREE FLOW OF MONEY IN AND OUT OF THE UK. LAND OWNERS, LAND SELLERS AND LANDLORDS GOT RICHER AS RENTS AND PRICES WENT SKY HIGH; SOME BECAME BILLIONS OF POUNDS RICHER TREATING HOUSING BENEFIT LIKE A CASH COW FOR THIRTY YEARS; BUT THEY GET A TAX CUT AND THE TENANTS ARE PUNISHED.