Direct Housing Benefit Credits 'Could Push a Million into Debt'

A plan to make people financially responsible, by paying their housing benefit directly into their banks rather than to their landlords, risks backfiring, according to social policy experts. A report by the consultancy, Policis, estimates that 29% of the 3.5 million working-age residents in social housing in the UK – about one million people – risk falling into debt if their benefits are paid to them directly in a single monthly payment. Nine out of 10 social housing residents opt for their benefit to be paid to their landlord, while receiving other benefits weekly or fortnightly, to help them manage their finances.  Read more on the Observer website.