Benefit-Rent Gap For Poorest Tenants Widens To £113 A Month

Benefit cuts mean Britain’s poorest private tenants are having to find an average of £113 a month to meet a shortfall between their housing benefit payments and their rent, putting many at risk of poverty and homelessness. Official data obtained by housing charity Shelter found that London renters on full benefits faced the widest rent gap in cash terms, needing to find an average of £211.94 a month, followed by £139.66 in the east of England and £138.23 in the south-east of England. Around 370,000 low-income households renting privately in Britain, including more than 100,000 families with children, struggle financially because housing allowances lag so far behind rents as a result of the benefit freeze. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/dec/02/benefit-rent-gap-for-poorest-tenants-widens-to-113-a-month

‘Pay To Stay’ Trap Will Force Working Families Out Of Council Homes

Tens of thousands of hard-working families will be forced to leave their council homes and find themselves unable to afford a local alternative as a result of government plans to restrict social housing to the poorest. The devastating figures – in a report commissioned by the Local Government Association – show that almost 60,000 households in England will be unable to afford to remain in their council properties from April next year, as a result of “pay to stay”. The move is part of Tory plans to end what ministers say are effectively subsidies for better-off council tenants. However, the report for the LGA by Savills finds that far higher rents in the private sector, and soaring house prices in many parts of the south, mean that many council tenants who just exceed the income cut-offs will be left in a desperate position. Read more on the Observer website.

Labour Claims Bedroom Tax Is 'Costing London's Poor £50m a Year'

The “bedroom tax” is squeezing more than £50 million a year from London’s poorest families, Labour has said. Unveiling new figures about the Coalition’s most controversial benefits reform, shadow welfare minister Helen Goodman said the average London family affected would lose £1,060 a year. Some 48,247 families in the capital have had benefits reduced because they have more rooms than they are deemed to need. But Labour said claimants cannot easily move to smaller flats because of waiting lists, meaning they end up without enough money to make ends meet. The figures show that Londoners lose more cash than people in any other region because of high rents. Read more on the Evening Standard website.

Council Tax Rises Hit Britain’s Poor Hardest

More than two million of the poorest people in England are facing rising council tax demands this year because of fresh Government cuts to the benefit system, new figures reveal today. War widows, carers and the disabled are among 2.31 million people who used to be entitled to council tax benefit but have now had their support substantially reduced or taken away altogether. As a result, significant numbers of families have been pushed into debt, with a survey revealing that nearly 16,000 people in London alone have been referred to the bailiffs for non-payment. Read more on the Independent website.

Prime Minister Grilled Over Tory MP Richard Benyon's 'Social Cleansing'

David Cameron was grilled over the Tory MP landlord in a rent hike row. The PM was put on the spot after the Mirror revealed how dozens of poor families face possible eviction after Richard Benyon’s estate took a stake in their homes. His £110million family firm is part of a consortium planning a rent rise that could triple bills on an estate in Hackney, East London.  Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn said it was “social cleansing”. Diane Abbott asked if it was the PM’s “idea of compassionate conservatism”. Mr Cameron refused to back his MP but blustered: “We all know that we need to see more houses being built. We have seen 41,000 affordable starts over the last year and more than a fifth of those have been in London.” Read more on the Daily Mirror website.

Benefit Sanctions Shoot Up Under New Regime

The number of benefit claimants getting hit by sanctions has risen sharply since the introduction of a tougher regime last year, figures reveal.  Statistics released by the DWP show between November 2012 (the first full month of the new sanctions) and June 2013 there were 553,000 sanctions. This compares to 499,000 between November 2011 and June 2012 – an 11 per cent rise.  Julia Unwin, chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: ‘Figures show that half a million people face the threat of destitution as their benefits are taken away in a bid to mould behaviour and encourage people to take jobs. International evidence is that while conditionality, has its uses, it is a blunt and uncertain instrument for driving behaviour. The threat of destitution is a poorly evidenced high risk way of trying to influence the behaviour of the poorest people in the country.” Read more on Inside Housing.

Lib Dem Members Demand Review of Bedroom Tax

Nick Clegg has suffered a fresh blow after Lib Dem activists demanded an immediate review of the Government’s hated Bedroom Tax. Lib Dem members have overwhelmingly backed a motion slamming the levy for “discriminating against the most vulnerable in society”.  The rebel motion, which is now official Lib Dem policy, states that the tax hits the poor and disabled hardest and fails to take into account that there are too few homes for victims to move into.  It said in large parts of the country there were not enough smaller homes to make downsizing locally “a viable option”. It added that ministers had shown “a lack of appreciation of the housing requirements of children and adults with disabilities and care needs”. It also said there had not been enough cash put aside to help the victims of the raid. Read more on the Mirror website.