With all due respect to my British readers, the UK welfare system is way out of control. We here in the United States need to pay close attention to what Liberalism truly costs.The Daily Mail reports that ten families in England are sharing an astonishing £1million a year in housing benefits, it emerged last night.
The huge sums being lavished on the families by the taxpayer are allowing them to live in streets normally reserved for millionaires.
Five of the families are receiving the maximum payment of £2,000 per week.
It is the first proof that George Osborne was correct when he claimed some households were receiving sums in excess of £100,000 a year.
Last night, the Chancellor told the Daily Mail: ‘It is precisely this kind of shocking waste of public money under the previous Labour government that led to Britain’s debt problems.
‘We are bringing an end to this by putting a cap on the total amount of benefit that a family can receive so the days of £100,000 housing benefit claims are gone.’
The Coalition triggered a furious reaction last year when it unveiled plans to cut the top rate of housing benefit to £400 a week. Chris Bryant, the Labour justice spokesman, said the cuts would lead to ‘social cleansing’, with 200,000 people forced out of the capital.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, also spoke of a ‘Kosovo-style’ exodus.
Critics even questioned whether Mr Osborne could back his claim that some families were in receipt of six-figure annual sums.
But Freedom of Information replies received by this newspaper show there are at least ten families in London sharing a £1million housing benefit bill between them.
The 10 families who are costing us an astonishing £1m a year between them just in housing benefits
Waste of taxpayers' money: Several families have been given thousands in annual housing benefit like Abdi Nur (pictured)
Ten families in England are sharing an astonishing £1million a year in housing benefits, it emerged last night.
The huge sums being lavished on the families by the taxpayer are allowing them to live in streets normally reserved for millionaires.
Five of the families are receiving the maximum payment of £2,000 per week.
It is the first proof that George Osborne was correct when he claimed some households were receiving sums in excess of £100,000 a year.
Last night, the Chancellor told the Daily Mail: ‘It is precisely this kind of shocking waste of public money under the previous Labour government that led to Britain’s debt problems.
‘We are bringing an end to this by putting a cap on the total amount of benefit that a family can receive so the days of £100,000 housing benefit claims are gone.’
The Coalition triggered a furious reaction last year when it unveiled plans to cut the top rate of housing benefit to £400 a week. Chris Bryant, the Labour justice spokesman, said the cuts would lead to ‘social cleansing’, with 200,000 people forced out of the capital.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, also spoke of a ‘Kosovo-style’ exodus.Critics even questioned whether Mr Osborne could back his claim that some families were in receipt of six-figure annual sums.
But Freedom of Information replies received by this newspaper show there are at least ten families in London sharing a £1million housing benefit bill between them.
All are being housed in Westminster, Kensington or Chelsea – the wealthiest parts of the country.
Five families are receiving the maximum of £2,000 a week, the equivalent to a working family’s mortgage on a £1.5million house.
It will re-ignite the row over the housing benefit bill, which has spiralled from £14billion ten years ago to £21billion. It is more than the country spends on policing and universities combined.
The identity of the ten families is being kept secret because of privacy rules.
Some previous cases, when the claimaints have been identified, involved even larger sums.
More details here
