IT'S concerning to learn that Bradford will be one of the worst-hit districts when the new benefits cap comes into force on Monday.

Such a major process of change can be a confusing and anxious time for those affected, so steps must be taken to ensure the most vulnerable people in society are fairly treated and don't simply slip through the cracks into destitution.

In a district where child poverty levels are already high, there has to be a risk that such a change could plunge some of the district's most vulnerable youngsters into an even worse plight.

On the flip side, many who go out to work from Monday to Friday, putting in long hours and often working overtime to make ends meet, may look at the previous £26,000-a-year cap as a pretty tidy sum for someone not in work.

There are those who will argue that £20,000 is a more realistic figure if people are to be given an incentive to get a job.

In that sense, few will disagree with efforts to tackle a culture of worklessness in some households.

But the question is whether the changes are being made in a way that gets to the root of the problem and doesn't sweep up innocent victims in its path.

It would be heartbreaking to think that an attempt to galvanise work-shy adults could miss its intended target and put up to 2,700 Bradford children on the breadline.