London MPs welcome housing benefit cut delay

Plans to delay the controversial crackdown on housing benefit claims were welcomed by London MPs today.

The concession was a particular relief to the capital's Liberal Democrats who have threatened to rebel when the proposed reduction in payments is put to a vote.

Lib-Dem deputy leader Simon Hughes, the MP for Southwark and Bermondsey, said: "The signals sound good — the Government is listening."

The new £400 cap on claims, along with cuts to lesser claims, was due to start next April.

It now looks set to be held back until 2012, giving claimants more time to get a job or move home. However the Department for Work and Pensions insists it is essential that reform goes ahead in the end.

"This is speculation. The housing benefit system is unfair for those who receive it and the taxpayer that funds it, and we have to put fairness back at the heart of the system," said a government source.