Cushioning the benefit cuts: Times 1/7/10

silvercar

"£60m cushion is set aside to ease cuts in housing benefits"

Maybe the cuts won't be so fierce after all:

Emergency funds worth £60 million have been set aside to cushion the blow from cuts to housing benefit.

Steve Webb, the Pensions Minister, said that the discretionary housing benefit fund had been trebled from £20 million to prevent families living in expensive properties from becoming homeless.

Last week George Osborne imposed a rental ceiling of £400 a week for a four-bedroom house with lower figures for smaller accommodation. Average rents for all homes are also being cut by 40 per cent under separate measures to reduce the £21 billion bill.

Mr Webb said that the Government was aware many families could struggle to find new, cheaper homes in high-cost areas such as London and may need to stay in their existing property for longer.

“We are looking closely at the implementation of these plans and the issues around areas of high-cost housing. We have trebled to £60 million the size of the housing benefit fund, which will help many of the hard cases,” he said at a welfare reform conference in London.

Any family affected by the changes can apply, but will have to make a strong case as to why they need to stay in their home for longer. Mr Webb was responding to criticism from campaign groups that predict thousands of families will end up on the streets.

Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said that plans to make sure work always paid more than benefits would be unveiled soon. He said millions of claimants were making a “rational choice” to stay on benefits.

“At present, the poorest in our society see little reason to take the risk of finding a job and losing their benefits. Seen in the light of the calculation made on the basis of risk and reward, the decision looks rational,” he said.

carolt

Oooh, does that mean you subscribe to The Times?

I can't see 40m being much more than drop in the ocean, though, nationally.

silvercar

carolt wrote: »

Oooh, does that mean you subscribe to The Times?

All my little secrets coming out now;)

Times online is free to 7 day subscribers of the Times newspapers.

Very moneysaving as its cheaper than buying the paper everyday:)

Could be even cheaper if I went for the "pay full price and get free delivery within M25" option, but don't like to deprive the local newsagent of work.:A

FATBALLZ

How about they give me £30m and i'll be happy to find these families some 4 bedroomed homes for less than £1800 a month. A net saving of £10m to the taxpayer.

carolt

No no!

I want that job!

I'll do it for only 28 million!


Bargain.

Generali

carolt wrote: »

No no!

I want that job!

I'll do it for only 28 million!


Bargain.

That is the crux of capitalism and how the actual wage ends up at £28,500 plus a Christmas do at the local carvery.;)

Silverbull

So how long can they stay in these high rent places before the £60m runs out?

This could postpone rents/house prices falling.

Generali

Silverbull wrote: »

So how long can they stay in these high rent places before the £60m runs out?

This could postpone rents/house prices falling.

I think the idea is that there are some families that will genuinely face nasty outcomes if forced to move quickly from higher rent places. The funds are meant to buy people time not to undermine the policy.

Spending £40,000,000 to make a cut of £1,800,000,000 more humane seems sensible from an economic and political pov to me.

PasturesNew

The best thing to do is run off a list of who they are, pop round to see them to let them know they'll have to be moving, let them know their new rent max amount, then help them find somewhere elsewhere .... and help them pack the van.

Left to their own devices they'll sit on their thumbs until the final day and then go "oh, me? oh ... really? how's that work then? eh?"

Fang_3

Should just throw them out and they'll soon find somewhere to live then.

Really2

Generali wrote: »

That is the crux of capitalism and how the actual wage ends up at £28,500 plus a Christmas do at the local carvery.;)

Do you work for me Gen