Research finds a third of all Newcastle homes have been hit by welfare reforms
- 01 Apr
Research by ALMO's has revealed that at least one third of all Newcastle homes have been hit by the welfare reforms that came into place last April.
The research highlights that the controversial bedroom tax has had the most significant impact on social housing tenants in the city.
On average the weekly loss in benefits for a council tenant seen to be under-occupying their home is £13.51 per household. The annual loss in housing benefit amongst all council tenants is around £3.2m, reports 24dash.
ALMO Your Homes Newcastle, who run Newcastle City Council's housing stock, have said that 4,703 tenants have been affected by the bedroom tax.
Figures now reveal that 60% of those affected by the bedroom tax in the city are now in arrears, and the number of people searching for one-bedroom homes through Tyne and Wear Homes has increased dramatically. At the end of February 3,558 people were looking for one-bed homes compared to 576 searching for a three bedroom house.
Neil Scott, YHN's director of tenancy services, said: "The government's welfare reform act has many different strands that affect tenants in many different ways, so it has been a challenging year for both us and tenants. We have maintained a balanced approach that recognises the complex nature of the changes and their impact on tenants. In the lead up to the introduction of the bedroom tax, we carried out more than 9,000 visits to properties and engaged face to face with over 4,700 households potentially affected by the under occupation charge. We have put a lot of resource into training, coaching and one to one development to enable staff to deliver advice accurately and effectively given the unprecedented speed and amount of change. We are also committed to assisting tenants in finding employment opportunities where possible and we have been working with Newcastle City Council in providing bespoke support to the 700 tenants affected by under occupation in Walker."
What do you think of this? Tweet us your comments @suppsolutions
Image source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1193076
Related articles
- 08 Nov
NHS BOSS SETS OUT A CASE FOR CASH BOOST
The speech by Mr Stevens at the NHS Providers' annual conference of health managers is being made at the time when three reputable health think-thanks- the Health Foundation, the King's Fund and the...
- 09 Jun
THERESA MAY PLEDGES TO REPLACE THE MENTAL HEALTH ACT 1983
According to Ms May, the new bill would introduce the following:According to the Tories, the proposals were described as the biggest change to mental health treatment law in over 30 years.Ms May...
- 30 May
THE PRESENT FIRST PRIME MINISTER OF SCOTLAND IS TO PLEDGE AGAINST ANY PLANS TO PRIVATISE THE NHS
It is also expected that Sturgeon will do the following as proof of her party's commitment to fighting against further austerity:Sturgeon said this before Tuesday's manifesto launch:"While the polls...
- 17 Mar
402 MILLION POUNDS WILL BE INVESTED IN COUNCILS WITH THE GREATEST HOMELESSNESS DEMAND FROM APRIL 2017
Presently, funding is only used for homeless households and not for the prevention of homelessness in the first instance.The funding by the Department for Communities and Local Government is set to...
- 15 Mar
RULES AROUND PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE PAYMENTS MAY CHANGE ON THURSDAY
Ministers have advised chief executives of over 30 charities which claimed that people will be left without vital financial support, to restrict access to a disability benefit.The Disability Benefits...
- 06 Mar
THE GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN URGED BY THE BMA TO INCREASE HEALTH SPENDING BY 10 BILLION POUNDS
This increase in health spending to a proportion of GDP that matched that of the 10 leading economies across Europe could pay for at least 35,000 extra beds a day and many more GP's, according to the...
- 05 Sep
MANY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE REFUGES AT RISK OF CLOSING DUE TO HOUSING BENEFIT CAP
Women who have been victims of domestic violence as well as their children are at risk of falling into the hands of their violent partners if the government caps housing benefit in the social sector...
- 03 Sep
Data on disability benefits refused by DWP
DWP officials have refused a second request for basic information on disability benefits using the “Section 22” exemption they used previously, reports The Independent.The Department had been...
- 02 Sep
UN to investigate how welfare reforms will affect disability rights
A disability charity in Scotland has said it’s been contacted by the UN’s Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as part of an inquiry into Britain’s treatment of people with...
- 01 Sep
Benefit cuts affecting 48,500 families in Liverpool
Analysis from Liverpool City Council has found that around 48,500 households are likely to lose their benefits due to new government reforms, reports the Liverpool Echo. Councillor Jane Corbett has...
What are the Future Funding Arrangements for Supported and Sheltered Housing? "Really enjoyable presentation, knowledge of presenters was excellent" M.D. - Community Integrated Care
