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.