Thursday, April 21, 2011

Housing benefit cut's

A great article by Leslie Morphy from the Guardian

By Leslie Morphy
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 20 April 2011

Last June, the government announced cuts to housing benefit that are expected to hit about a million households. There was major coverage at the time, including controversy over Boris Johnson's use of the phrase "social cleansing". But another change, included in November's comprehensive spending review, has barely received any attention even though it will force tens of thousands to leave their homes.


The government is preparing to rush through regulations that mean up to 88,000 25- to 34-year-olds will suddenly be dropped from a benefit rate designed to cover the cost of a one-bedroom flat to the shared accommodation rate. This week, draft regulations are due to be published on the measure, which will be laid in parliament by the summer and take effect next year.


The average loss is £47 per week, and some people will see their benefit entitlement more than halved. Most of those affected will lose their home. This measure threatens to turn the clock back on street homelessness. We could find ourselves back in the 80s, when people living rough on the streets was a fact of life.


It's true that many young people living in bigger cities across the UK have to house-share, but for most this is a choice. It's a period that is time-limited, coming to an end when a deposit for a house is saved or when earnings allow a move to their own flat. Sharing for young professionals tends to be with like-minded individuals, friends or workmates, and provides a social life and base for good times.


Contrast this with the experience of vulnerable single people without support networks or the cushion of a decent income. Many of those affected by this cut come from troubled backgrounds featuring neglect and abuse, have mental illnesses, or struggle with drugs or alcohol. Their difficulties in early life are not smoothed out by supportive families or peer networks. Nor are they pointed in the right direction by a proactive teacher or tutor at college. Instead, it's often a struggle for them to become independent and make a home and a life for themselves.




Making a clean break from past lifestyles is almost impossible in these circumstances, as is reconnecting with children or trying to sustain paid work. And where is all the shared housing for these individuals? As housing benefit claimants, they will not be able to afford the comfortable shared houses that young professionals do. There simply aren't enough available alternatives. In many areas of the country, especially rural areas and small towns, shared accommodation doesn't exist.


We at Crisis surveyed 343 frontline housing professionals working to support people into private accommodation. Of these, 95% expressed concerns about the proposed change, 87% said they already have difficulty finding appropriate properties for people on the shared accommodation rate, 72% said that there is not enough shared accommodation available in their local area, and around 63% said that there is a higher risk of tenancies breaking down in shared properties.


The National Landlords Association has also said that most landlords will be unable to accept such significant decreases in rent and that the vast majority (96%) also say that they are not planning to let more shared properties in response to this change.


A return to the days of widespread homelessness just doesn't make economic sense. It can cost up to £50,000 and dedicated effort from a range of public and voluntary agencies to help a rough sleeper off the streets and tackle the issues that made them homeless. Yet all that could be wasted if, after having settled someone into a flat in the private rented sector, they are now uprooted due to this benefit cut and forced to move into a shared house. Experience clearly tells us this will lead to many becoming unstable again, returning to past behaviours and ending up back on the streets. Protecting vulnerable people from the cuts has become almost a mantra for David Cameron, quelling the fears of many of his coalition partners. But street homelessness, emblematic of unjust social and economic policies, looks set to increase if this cut goes ahead.


Housing is not a luxury, and for anyone not convinced by the moral argument against homelessness, it is clear that an increase in rough sleeping will have a political and economic cost too. There is still time. I urge the government to head off this disaster before it is too late by rethinking these cuts, or at the very least introducing clear exemptions for vulnerable groups.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2011

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