New figures reveal that 266 households in Bradford had their benefits capped by November, with the authority being the second most-affected by welfare reforms in Yorkshire.

The figures, by the Department for Work and Pensions, show 1,658 households in the county had benefits limited as part of the Government’s plan to ensure households cannot claim more in benefits than the average family earns.

The benefit cap limits welfare handouts to £500 a week for couples, with or without children, and lone parent households, and £350 a week for households of a single adult with no children.

Minister for Welfare Reform Lord Freud said: “It is not right that some families on benefits were receiving amounts of money that hardworking taxpayers could only dream of and our welfare reforms are working to fix the system.”

He said it increased incentives to move into work.