MPs have voted in favour of a proposed 1 per cent cap on raising benefits by a majority of 56. Ministers say the cap is needed because it is unfair that state handouts have been rising twice as fast as wages during recent years of austerity.
Analysts at the Institute for Fiscal Studies say that households with no working adults will be hit harder by the benefits cap than those in which some adults work but also draw certain benefits.
ITV News' Social Affairs Editor Penny Marshall has been to speaking to some such families in the village of South Hetton in County Durham:
MPs have voted in favour of a Government measure to cap benefits rises. The Work Secretary says it will save £5bn from the welfare bill.
The Department for Work and Pensions has calculated the savings that the exchequer could expect if the benefit cap passes this evening.