Ian Duncan Smith: £26k cap on benefits already yielding results Adults in 19,000 households whose benefits would have been cut to bring them under the new £26,000 welfare cap per household have taken up jobs in the six months before the scheme comes into force nationally, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said. The benefits of a further 28,482 families have been cut under the scheme - almost half of those being based in London, where rents are highest. The programme has also led tens of thousands more people to ask for help in finding work, the DWP said. Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said the figures showed that the programme was achieving results. "These figures highlight our commitment to support those who want to work hard and get on, and to end benefit dependency," he said. We had to fix the broken welfare system. The benefit cap means claimants no longer receive more in benefits than hard-working households" average earnings, making the welfare system fair for claimants and the taxpayer that funds it." The programme introduces a ceiling for the first time on the amount any one family can claim in welfare, such as jobseekers" allowance, housing benefit and child benefit. The £26,000 limit is equivalent to a pre-tax salary of £35,000 a year. The disabled, war widows and those receiving in-work benefits are exempt. Official figures show the cap has affected 50 families that were receiving £900 a week in benefits - equivalent to a salary before tax of £68,000. Their benefits have been cut by £400, to £500 a week. About 300 families have had their benefits reduced by £300 to £400 a week. More than 900 single people with no children have also been affected. Three quarters of capped households lost less than £100 a year, however. The policy has proved popular with the public, according to polling, but critics argue it has forced families to move from expensive rented accommodation to homes further afield. It is also claimed the policy disproportionately affects large immigrant families. More than a third of capped households have more than five children, the DWP figures show.