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Benefit caps force families to leave central London or be homeless - The Guardian

In Westminster, the borough most affected by the housing benefit cap, Westminster council says it expects around 2,000 families will find themselves unable to afford their current rents, though some may be able to persuade their landlords to lower it.  Six weeks into the new system, families whose tenancies are due for renewal are scrabbling to stay in the area.

 Housing officials from Westminster recently visited schools to advise those parents living in privately rented accommodation and receiving housing benefit.  "Westminster has accepted that there will be a 20% reduction of the school population across the borough as a result of these changes. It is a drastic change. We have been visiting schools and nurseries to get that message out."

In the article, Maggie Schneider, the deputy head of Gateway primary school in Marylebone, central London has noticed the anxiety this has created for children.  "It is quite tragic. One girl ended up coming to my room every day to say, 'Miss, have you found me a home?'”.  All pupils at the school set themselves a personal challenge each term. "Mostly it's things like learning times tables. She said her challenge was to get a home … She's eight years old. She shouldn't be worrying about that."

Schneider estimates that 50 of Gateway primary's 700 children are already affected. She said she was spending a lot of her time writing letters to the council's housing department, to see if she could help families to stay in the borough, near the school, so that the children's education was not disturbed.

The full article is available on the Guardian website.