Councillors across the country are worried they will be unable to cope with the strain on public services caused by cuts to housing benefit, new Shelter research has revealed. A survey by pollsters ComRes reveals that three in five (59 per cent) councillors in England believe there will be significant knock-on costs to their local authority as a result of the changes, which began coming into effect from April this year. Much of the concern centres around strain on public services, with over half (52 per cent) of councillors fearing that families moving as a result of reductions to housing benefit will put extra pressure on schools, hospitals and advice and support services. Worryingly, 61 per cent believe that their local authority does not have sufficient resources to cope. Overall, half (49 per cent) of councillors surveyed said they did not support the scale of the Government’s cuts, highlighting the extent of concern at local government level about impact of the changes in their area. Read more on the Shelter website.
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