Chancellor’s Welfare Cuts Won’t Solve Housing Crisis Or Ease Poverty

George Osborne’s proposed crackdown on welfare benefits might have played well to the crowd at the Conservative Party conference, but it hasn’t gone down so well among housing professionals. The Chancellor announced a further reduction in the benefit cap limiting the amount of state assistance a household can receive – from £26,000 to £23,000. He also announced a two-year freeze on benefits: Job Seekers’ Allowance, Income Support, tax credits, Housing and child benefits. The proposals have caused some concern at the CIH, which said the Chancellor’s welfare package “fails to reflect the reality of the housing crisis”. “We are not building enough homes, which means the cost of housing and therefore the housing benefit bill is going up. Millions of people have no choice but to rely on housing benefit to secure a roof over their head. The number of people in work who still have to claim housing benefit has more than doubled from around 445,000 to just over a million in the last five years,” said Grainia Long, the CIH’s chief executive. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.