London councils challenged on excuses for moving families on benefits
- 12 Nov
Figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show over 80% of every housing benefit claim is for less than £100 per week.
Councils are having to relocate families to other areas due to high housing costs, but only 5 families are claiming over £100,000 a year.
Councils in London have admitted to moving families needing accomodation outside of the capital due to to the cost and strain on rescources. Families are being moved to cheaper locations, and councils have said it would be impossible to meet their homelessness duties in London.
Newham London Borough Council first had the controversial plans to export benefit dependent families to cheaper areas of the country such as Stoke-on-Trent, and was described by critics as ‘social cleansing'. Newham LBC had written to more than 1,000 social housing providers to secure alternative accommodation for households it claims have been priced out of the capital by coalition caps on housing benefits.
The figures from Full Fact are challenging claims that they are forced to relocate families to other areas due to the high cost, as the vast majority of claimants receive £100 or less per week.
Based on the report, families claiming £100,000 a year account for only 0.001% of the total and the report from Full Fact said that the reason behind these higher claims is because they are for larger families.
They said:While the evidence suggests that there are a small number of Housing Benefit claimants who pocket more than £100,000 per year - perhaps around five - these cases are very much the exception rather than the rule.
Focusing exclusively on these outliers without first putting them into context, where over 80% of claims are below £100 per week, could distort the debate around this important topic.
Related articles
- 11 Sep
New service to support homeless people in Birmingham
A new dedicated Homeless Street Triage car will be responding to the rising number of calls reporting homelessness, begging and anti-social drinking in the city, reports 24dash.In the last year –...
- 09 Sep
Gym in Kent hopes to improve health and fitness of homeless people
Riverside is a specialist in working with single homeless people to help them get their lives back on track and into accommodation. Their new project, a gymnasium, has been funded by the Riverside...
- 08 Sep
The cost of homelessness in Hackney doubles
Figures have shown that the cost of homelessness in 2009/10 was £3,092,255 compared to £7,167,440 in 2014/15, with a cut on staff spending from £3,239,653 to £2,608,491 reports 24dash.Hackney...
- 04 Sep
Two homelessness services to be investigated
The Scottish Housing Regulator is set to investigate every aspect of services offered by Dumfries and Galloway Council, whilst also examining how homeless people access help and support at Scottish...
- 03 Sep
Homeless project for young people under threat due to cuts
Platform for Life was expected to attract interest from numerous housing associations with its scheme to convert properties into accommodation for young people in further education, training or work,...
- 01 Sep
Charities warns Irish government of homelessness crisis
Social Justice Ireland is calling for a new funding system that will meet the demand and reveal that only 20 council homes for families have been completed within the first three months of this year,...
- 26 Aug
Newspaper office to become a centre for homeless people
The old office for the Doncaster Free Press is being transformed into flats and other facilities for people who are homeless, reports Hold the Front Page. The building is being turned into...
- 20 Aug
Cuts leaving people in Cheltenham needing homelessness support
Bosses at CCP and Cheltenham Borough Council have said the “devastating impact” of benefit cuts in the town are causing issues for many people, report the Gloucestershire Echo.Over the past few...
- 19 Aug
Concern that homelessness in Cambridge is at ‘tipping point’
Not only do figures show a rise in quarterly numbers by 24 households, they also reveal that over 350 cases were placed in temporary accommodation over the last year, which was a rise of 50 cases on...
- 11 Aug
Charities say Wales is “setting an example” for homelessness
A joint report by Crisis and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has praised Welsh laws that are trying to address the issues of homelessness, reports the BBC.However they warn that the removal of...
Responding to the DWP Consultation: Housing Benefit Reform - Supported Housing "Sincere thanks to Michael Patterson for an excellent presentation on the HB Reform issues in Leeds last week, and for all the very helpful info and links. I do intend to respond on behalf of our organisation, Caring For Life, but feel that Support Solutions' response is excellent." E.S. - Caring for Life
