121,500 Households Benefit From Stamp Duty Cut Saving £284 Million

121,500 first-time buyers have saved a total of £284,000,000 thanks to the government’s cut to stamp duty, according to official statistics which cover the period until 30th June this year. Over the next five years, it is estimated that the government’s flagship housing policy will help over 1 million people getting onto the housing ladder. First time buyers purchasing homes of £300,000 and under now pay no stamp duty at all, and those who have bought properties of up to £500,000 will also have benefited from a stamp duty cut. Read more on the GovUK website.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/121500-households-benefit-from-stamp-duty-cut-saving-284-million

One In Four Help To Buy Homes Went To People Earning More Than DOUBLE The Average Wage

One in four people who benefited from the Government's flagship Help to Buy scheme earned more than double the average wage, figures reveal.   The scheme was designed to help low income households get on the housing ladder but the latest statistics have laid bare its failure to meet its objectives. Nearly 3,500 households earning more than £100,000 benefited from the taxpayer-funded scheme.  And one in five Help to Buy homes even went to people who already owned a property.  Read more on the Daily Mail website.

More Than 500,000 Supported By Foodbanks In Only Six Months

More than half a million people were supported by foodbanks in the first six months of this year, according to statistics from the Trussell Trust, as the number of families left dependent on foodbanks due to Government austerity measures is set to reach a record high in 2016. The staggering statistics reveal 519,342 three day emergency food supplies were given to people in crisis between April and September 2016, including 188,584 children. This is compared to 506,369 during the same period last year, with benefit delays and changes cited as the main reason people are forced to turn to foodbanks. Problems with benefits accounted for 44% of all referrals, followed by low-income caused by issues such as insecure employment. Read more on the Welfare Weekly website.

Universal Credit Staff Vote To Strike over 'Inadequate' IT Systems

Universal Credit employees have voted to go on a two-day strike over inadequate IT systems and what they describe as an “increasingly oppressive working environment”. Staff in DWP centres in Glasgow and Bolton voted by 84 percent to go on strike over the troubled project, which aims to merge six working-age benefits into one. The PCS union has about 1,500 members across the two sites, representing over 80 percent of all staff, according to a spokesman.  Staff at the contact centres are responsible for taking calls from claimants, answering online enquires and processing claims. Their demands include “proper investment in IT and training”, an end to the “excessive target culture” and a “fundamental rethink of the new ways of working”. Read more on the Computer World website.

Tories Plan To Deny EU Migrants Out-Of-Work Benefits under Universal Credit

Ministers are preparing plans to bar jobseekers from the European Union from receiving all out-of-work benefits once the universal credit system is completely introduced. Although universal credit – a merger of as many as six separate benefits – is unlikely to apply to existing claimants until as late as 2018, it will apply to new claimants sooner. The government is likely to argue that restricting access to universal credit is not in breach of EU rules since it is not a benefit primarily designed to facilitate access to the labour market. As a result, it is believed that access to its out-of-work benefits could be restricted without interfering with the free movement of labour, a central pillar of the European Union. Read more on the Guardian website.

IDS in Bid to Tax Disability Cash and Cap Child Benefit

Benefits for the disabled could be taxed and child benefit capped for those with more than two children under plans to further cut the welfare bill. Iain Duncan Smith is arguing that disabled benefits should be increased for the poor and subsidised by taxing the handouts for better-off claimants. He is also pressing a reluctant David Cameron and George Osborne to restrict child benefit to two children for new claimants. As well as saving money, he believes it would encourage welfare claimants to have smaller families. Read more on the Sunday Times website.

Digital Exclusion Is a Modern Social Evil We Can Abolish

It's easy to forget that 9.5 million people – nearly 20% of the UK population – lack the basic online skills needed to send and receive email, use a search engine, browse the internet and complete online forms. Having digital skills is vital if we are to maximise economic growth and job creation. According to the 2012 Booz & Co report, The Case For Universal Digitisation, the lack of online skills is costing the UK economy £63bn in additional annual GDP growth. While online shopping saves the average consumer £560 a year.  The report also concludes that increased digital skills are of benefit to public services, leading to improvements in education; connecting older and isolated people to their communities more effectively; helping adults back into work and improving health and social services. These benefits make their greatest impact on the lives of the marginalised in society. And yet the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that 6.4 million people have never been online. Read more on the Guardian website.

Government Focusing On Welfare Not Housing Market Problems

The CIH has warned that George Osborne's plans to cut housing benefit for under 25s is a "dangerous move" that could undermine efforts to rebuild the economy. Responding to Mr Osborne's speech, Grainia Long, chief executive of the CIH, said: “In an attempt to control costs, government is concentrating its efforts on entitlement to benefits rather than the fundamental problems in our housing and labour markets. CIH has already warned that cutting housing benefit for under 25s would be a dangerous move. It is difficult to build the economy without a young, mobile workforce. It would mean that young people would be unwilling to take risks such as moving for work because there would be no safety net for them. It also fails to take into account the reality of many people’s lives – many under 25s will have paid tax and national insurance for several years before needing to claim benefits.” Read more on the CIH website.