Benefit Sanctions Forcing People To Sleep Rough And Go Hungry

Drawing on a survey of more than 1000 people from homeless hostels and day centres in 21 cities, along with 42 in-depth interviews, a Crisis report provides detailed accounts of people being forced to sleep on the street, coping with severe hunger and going without heating in winter.  The report shows that where people had been sanctioned in the past year:

·         21% reported becoming homeless as a result;

·         16% said they had been forced to sleep rough as a result;

·         77% had gone hungry or skipped meals;

·         75% said it negatively affected their mental health;

·         64% had gone without heating;

·         60% found it harder to look for work

Download the report from the Crisis website.

Poverty Forcing People to Turn to Fuel Banks

In a church hall in one of South West London’s most affluent neighbourhoods, a fuel bank has opened to help those who cannot afford to pay for their energy bills. This is a pilot project run in ­partnership between charities including the Trussell Trust and funded by the energy giant npower. It is a radical new idea to tackle the “heat or eat” dilemma.  Fuel and food poverty go hand in hand. Research by Citizens Advice suggests one in six homes using energy meters disconnect supplies every year to save money. This means some 1.6 million people could be going without gas and electricity.  The npower scheme has three pilot areas – Durham, Gloucester and Kingston upon Thames. Read more on the Daily Mirror website.

Benefit Changes Mean a Choice of 'Eat or Heat' For More Families

Soaring numbers of families with disabled children are being forced to go without food or heating because they can no longer afford the basics, according to research from Contact A Family. One third of families with disabled children are worse off as a result of benefit changes – nearly half by more than £1,500 a year. Changes to tax credits, a reduction in help with council tax and the "bedroom tax" were the commonest problems reported. Overall, 83 per cent of parents with disabled children say the family is now having to go without. Of these, almost a quarter say their child's health has worsened as a result, and more than two thirds suffered ill health themselves. Read more on the Independent website.

Bedroom Tax Bites As Tenants Choose Between 'Heat or Eat'

Thousands of low-income tenants have been plunged into "heat or eat" hardship as a result of the bedroom tax, a government-commissioned analysis of the policy's impact reveals. The study, published by the DWP, finds that 60% of the 523,000 tenants affected have been unable to meet housing benefit shortfalls of between £14 and £22 a week in full.  The report finds that hard-pressed tenants are cutting back on food and energy, or running up debts with friends or high-credit lenders to try to meet rent payments. Although one in five claimants has registered an interest in downsizing, shortages of smaller properties mean just 4.5% of tenants had been able to move to a smaller home. Four-fifths of claimants told researchers they were finding it "very" or "fairly" difficult to meet the shortfalls, and many said they would continue to spend less on household essentials over the next 12 months. Download a copy of the report from the GovUK website.