The leader of Kent County Council (KCC) has defended his
decision to rewrite a report that links poverty in the county with benefit
changes. Paul Carter said the KCC report, released in November, was published without
his knowledge and he was unhappy with some of its conclusions. "We are not trying to cover up anything," said
Conservative Mr Carter. "The officer that wrote it was a junior officer
and didn't draw in my view appropriate conclusions from the evidence." The
first report said increases in homelessness, a rise in people in temporary
accommodation, increased use of food banks and rising crime in some areas could
be linked to the government's welfare changes. The new one states other factors including the state of
the economy, the cost of living and housing issues, are also to blame. Read
more on the BBC website.
