Crackdown on housing benefit has seen a 75% fall on those recieving over £30,000 Work and Pensions Minister Iain Duncan Smith said spending on housing benefit under Labour had doubled to £23billion Work and Pensions Minister Iain Duncan Smith said spending on housing benefit under Labour had doubled in a decade to £23billion a year A crackdown on housing benefit has seen a massive fall in the number of families claiming over £30,000 a year, the Government say. There has been a 75 per cent drop in the largest claims in three years, new figures show, after ministers pledged to cut the ballooning welfare budget. Payments to tenants in the private rented sector were capped at £250 a week for a one-bedroom flat up to £400 for four bedrooms, in April 2011. Work and Pensions Minister Iain Duncan Smith said spending on housing benefit under Labour had doubled in a decade to £23billion a year. "Housing benefit over the last decade spiralled out of control," he said. This costs every household in the country almost £900 a year. Our reforms are already making a difference and ending the unfairness of these very large housing benefit claims, however, there is more to be done. There are now just 490 families claiming more than £600 a week in housing benefit - over £31,000 a year - compared to 1,880 in November 2010. While only 30 households now take more than £1,000 a week - or £52,000 a year - a drop from 130. But the total number of housing benefit claimants has risen by 190,000 under the Coalition due to the soaring cost of private lets. Rents in England are rising by £297 a year, according to analysis of Government figures by the housing charity Shelter. Its chief executive Campbell Robb said rising prices had left many households in a "rent trap" where they cannot save. A DWP spokeswoman said the overall number of claimants would drop with the introduction of Universal Credit in April, intended to help more people into work. The Government will also remove a subsidy for spare rooms, which Labour have dubbed a "bedroom tax," and will cap benefits at £500 a week with some exemptions for disabled people and war widows. Research last autumn by the National Housing Federation found the number of working families relying on it has almost doubled in three years. The shadows of children playing are cast on the wall of My Street in Salford. There government claims a 75% drop in the number of families claiming over £30,000 a year The increase was blamed on a housing shortage that has fuelled high rents and property prices. Private rent prices are forecast to soar by a further 35 per cent in six years. There are 5 million housing benefit claimants, up from 4.8million in 2010. Those with incomes of less than £16,000 a year can claim housing benefit if they do not have savings of a similar amount. However, under the complex system, people who earn more can also qualify for help depending on the size of their family and any disabilities. The Liberal Democrats blocked £6.5billion of cuts to the welfare budget last year including ending housing benefit for the under-25s and limiting child benefit payments to two children. However they are keen to take the axe to benefits for wealthy pensioners. Winter fuel payments could be taxed under plans they have put forward in negotiations over this month's Budget.