The Government has offered concessions over its £26,000 cap on benefits as MPs threw out changes to the controversial welfare reforms made in the House of Lords.
Once the changes come into force in April 2013, people who lose their job will be given a nine-month grace period to find work before the cap is imposed, employment minister Chris Grayling said.
Workless families currently receiving payments at a level above the cap will be given support to make them understand the need to find jobs before the April 2013 deadline.
At Prime Minister's Question Time, David Cameron challenged Labour to support the threshold, saying: "The cap is right and the cap is fair."
A Lords amendment, which was led by Church of England bishops and removed child benefit from the cap, was overturned by 334 votes to 251, majority 83.
Mr Grayling said the public "overwhelmingly" supported the Government's stance to introduce a benefits cap at £26,000 a year, equivalent to a gross salary of £35,000.
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| People who lose their job will be given a nine-month grace period, employment minister Chris Grayling said |
He said Labour had been guilty of "flip-flopping" on the issue, initially supporting a benefits ceiling before the party's peers supported an amendment in the Lords to exclude child benefit from any cap.
But in the face of concerns from Lib Dem deputy leader Simon Hughes, and Mark Field, Tory MP for Cities of London and Westminster - who said they were worried families in the capital might have to move out because of the changes - Mr Grayling announced a number of concessions.
He said families would receive a 12-month grace period to find work, while those who lose their job through no fault of their own after being employed for a year would be given nine months in which to find new employment.
Meanwhile, households entitled to working tax credit would be exempted from the cap along with working households on universal credit after 2013.
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