Families with children have been hardest hit by the benefits cap in Medway as the government claims the policy has encouraged more people to start working.

The benefits cap was introduced in April 2013 and meant single parents or couples, living with children, had their benefits capped to £500 a week. Households without children were capped to £350.

The aim of the policy was to encourage people to go back to work and not depend on government handouts.

According to the data release by the Department for Work and Pensions, 260 households in the Towns have been affected by the benefit cap. Of these, 121 are a single parent with children and 135 are a couple with children. No households without children have been affected.

All the households have at least two children; 14 households with two children were affected; 44 with three children, 126 with four children and 79 households with five or more children.

The majority of the families (166) have seen their benefits capped by less than £50 a week; 55 households have lost between £50 and £100; 35 families are now living on £100-£150 less and 12 are down £150-£200 a week.

Medway has fared worse than its neighbouring local authorities with only 77 households affected in Gravesham and 128 in Swale.

In the South East, 5,635 households have had their benefits capped and nationwide the total stands at more than 55,000.

According to the DWP of the 55,300 households who were capped, 31,000 are no longer subject to a cap and 40% have moved into work.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, said: "As well as restoring fairness to the system, and saving the taxpayer money, the benefit cap provides a clear incentive to people to get into work.

"Today’s figures show that the cap has led to hundreds of people breaking free from welfare dependency every week, and gaining the financial security and esteem which comes with a job and pay packet.

"That’s real people turning their lives and the prospects of their families around. It is a proud record of this government’s long-term economic plan – one that we are determined to see through."

The policy is estimated to save £225 million over two years. Before the benefit cap, 300 of the highest claiming families got over £9 million in benefits every year.

The data refers to the number of households capped from April 15, 2013 to November 2014.