Benefit Cuts Pushing Claimants Out Of City

Anecdotal information suggests that some benefit claimants have started to move out of Cambridge to cheaper areas and the city council is not expecting the situation to get better anytime soon.  In its draft housing strategy for the next three years Cambridge City Council says the Government's welfare reforms mean the LHA is now "insufficient" to cover even lower quartile private rents in the city.  The report says: "Anecdotal information suggests that some benefit claimants have started to move out of the city to cheaper areas. As well as the effects on the people concerned, this could impact on recruitment by local businesses, on travel to work patterns, on the balance of communities, etc."  The document says that other reforms, including the removal of the single-room rate for single people aged 25-34, increased deductions for non-dependants etc are also "starting to impact on a number of claimants".  Read more on 24dash.

Housing Benefit – Parliamentary Written Answer

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many single people aged between 25 and 34 are claiming the one bedroom local housing allowance rate in each (a) local authority area and (b) broad rental market area.
Steve Webb: The Department published the 'Two Year Review of the Local Housing Allowance' in February 2011, which includes the current caseload proportions claiming the one bedroom local housing allowance rate, in figure 2.11. A copy of the document has been placed in the Library. The Department plans to publish an Equality Impact Assessment for the shared accommodation rate changes within the next two months, to accompany the draft regulations. This will contain estimates of the numbers of single housing benefit claimants between the ages of 25 and 34 who will be affected by these changes.