Benefit Cap On Lone Parents Of Under-Twos Is Unlawful

The government’s policy of imposing the benefit cap on tens of thousands of lone parents with children under the age of two is unlawful, discriminatory and has resulted in “real damage” to the families affected, the high court has ruled. The benefit cap, which limits the total amount households can receive in benefits to £20,000 a year, or £23,000 in Greater London, was envisaged as an “incentive” to persuade unemployed people to move into work. However, Mr Justice Collins said in his judgment that the policy visited “real misery to no good purpose” on lone parents with very young children who were subject to the cap despite there being no official requirement for them to find work. Read more on the Guardian website.

Welfare Reforms Failing To Move Social Housing Tenants Into Work

The Coalition Government's radical welfare reforms have resulted in very few social housing tenants being able to find jobs despite their aim of moving people dependent on benefits into work, according to a new LSE report. Only one in six tenants have either found work or increased their hours since the reforms were introduced in 2010. Those who found work most commonly worked for family members or became self-employed. The majority of new jobs were part-time with uncertain hours. One third of tenants are struggling financially as a result of the reforms. A majority, 63 per cent, said they were coping by reducing expenditure, in some cases on food, getting into debt to pay large bills or borrowing from family and friends. Download the report from the LSE website.

Benefit Caps Have 'No Impact on Rates of Employment'

The government's benefit cap has had no discernable impact on encouraging residents to find work, according to a council involved in one of the project's pilot schemes.  Phil Harris, deputy director for community housing services at Haringey council, one of four local authorities involved in the benefit cap pilot schemes, said the cap had not changed residents' behaviour. He suggested that problems with the accuracy and maintenance of data held the DWP could have led to misleading messages from the department. The DWP recently released figures showing that the number of people affected by the benefit cap had dropped from 56,000 to 40,000, with 8,000 finding employment through JobCentre Plus. Iain Duncan Smith used the figures to state the benefit cap has encouraged people into work but the claim was disputed by former DWP chief economist Jonathan Portes.  Read more on the Guardian website.

Website Tracking Council Tax Benefit Changes Launched

A think tank has launched a website tracking changes to council tax support in England.  Council Tax Support Update has been launched by the New Policy Institute, which produces evidence-based research on a range of social and economic issues including income, work, housing and poverty.  The data, which covers local authorities in England, provides information on each of the schemes agreed.  According to the site, 86 councils have decided (or are in the final stages of deciding) their CTS schemes for April 2013. They must have their local schemes in place by the end of January. View the website by clicking on the logo below.