Two families given housing benefits worth £366,000

Two London families have received housing benefit worth £366,000, figures reveal today.

One family in Camden has received more than £189,000 since August 2001. They are now in a five-bedroom house that costs £1,515 a week.

But local estate agents said similar properties were available at less than half the cost. A home with six double bedrooms in the centre of Camden is on the market for £800 a week, while a nearby five-bedroom flat is available for £590 a week. The claimants have seven children and have lived at several properties in the period.

Another family in Brent are paid £2,827 a week, which has added up to £177,497, claimed since January 2004.

Several other London boroughs have paid out sums of more than £100,000. A claimant in Westminster has been paid £76,000 in the last 12 months. Critics say the figures show the housing benefits system, which costs £15billion a year, is in need of reform.

Claimants are entitled to the benefit if their income is so low the family would not otherwise be able to stay together in their home area.

Susie Squire, campaign manager at the Taxpayers' Alliance, said the figures were staggering: "They show an alarming amount of taxpayers' money is being haemorrhaged each year."

A Department for Work and Pensions spokeswoman said: "We capped the Local Housing Allowance in April because it was unacceptable that a small number of people received exceptionally high levels of benefits. Our welfare reforms will ensure that it isn't an option to sit at home and claim benefits."

A spokeswoman for Camden council said: "Housing benefit claims are carefully examined and are awarded to people in greatest need and can often be the only way a large family in need can stay together."