Ministers To Reverse Universal Credit Policy For Homeless Families

Ministers are to bow to pressure to exclude homeless families from universal credit after it emerged that design flaws in the troubled new benefits system have triggered an explosion in rent arrears, costing council tax payers millions of pounds. Local authorities in London say rent collection levels for homeless tenants placed in emergency accommodation have collapsed following the introduction of the universal credit digital service last year. Croydon council says it faces an unpaid £2.5m rent bill this year as a result, and has warned ministers this scale of losses is unsustainable. It said the costs were leaving councils potentially unable to meet their statutory duties under homelessness law. Read more on the Guardian website.

Housing Minister Says He 'Won’t Hesitate To Take Action' Over Planning

New powers allowing the government to force local authorities and county councils to work together and develop local plans is one of three new amendments that have been introduced to the Neighbourhood Planning Bill. The other two amendments confirm that there would be a statutory duty to have a local plan in place and would enable the government to digitise local plans to make them easier for the public to access. Housing minister Gavin Barwell said the amendments were an attempt to take the “confrontation” out of the planning system. Read more on the Construction News website.