A Freedom of Information request has revealed that 40,000 families on welfare benefits have more than 5 children. 

The Express report:

The 40,000 collect £150million a year in child benefit alone. And at least one parent from each family is also claiming jobseeker’s allowance, incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance, income support, employment allowance or pension credit. 

The figures were released last month by the Department for Work and Pensions following a Freedom of Information Act request.

A mother with 11 children is entitled to in excess of £600 every week in child benefit, tax credits and income support alone – more than £31,000 a year.

You can read the full story here.

Matthew Burgess
http://www.mattburgess.co
I am a journalist and author. I am a journalist at the UK edition of WIRED magazine. In 2015, my first book Freedom of Information: A Practical Guide for UK Journalists, was published. My second book Reed Hastings: Building Netflix, was published in March 2020. I created FOI Directory in 2012 and have maintained it in my spare time ever since.