The ‘benefits cap’ has hit a total of 218 households in Bradford, official figures show.

And hundreds more families have had their housing benefit cut in Kirklees (105), Calderdale (67) and Leeds (263) since the summer. But the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is unable to say how many of those 653 households now have somebody in a job. Across the country, 19,000 people “potentially affected by the cap” are now in work, but no figures are available for each local authority area.

Nevertheless, Stuart Griffiths, a Jobcentre Plus district manager in Yorkshire, said: “We’ve been working hard in Yorkshire to help people prepare for the benefit cap. This started in April last year. We’ve targeted help at getting people into work and supporting people who just didn’t see work as a way to get on in life.”

And Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary said: “These figures highlight our commitment to support those who want to work hard and to end benefit dependency.”