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London Housing applicants sent to coast
Comments
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Sorry don't see it as the solution and I can only see it causing greater problems in the future.
Many people think that giving social housing to lone parents (which is what used to happen before the localism act where they were treated as a priority for it) is the best solution. I can understand this point of view.
But even allowing for the fact that social housing contains a lot of pensioners, the disabled, etc, employment rates by social housing tenants is the lowest out of all types of housing tenure. The low rents should be an incentive into employment since less disposable income has to be spent this way but social housing is an employment blackspot for those of working age (I've seen academic studies on this).
So why should it matter that a small percentage of lone parents are being sent to some areas with lower employment opportunities? The alternative, giving them social housing in London (v difficult these days due to very low stock and high demand), is not necessarily making them any more 'employable' as these residents are least likely to be in employment.
I appreciate its a huge change in mindset for lone parents to accept that they must move to cheaper areas because ever since the inception of LHA and the changes to social housing allocation based on need years ago, they've been able to remain where they like, including expensive central London areas.
They have the expectation to stay in their preferred areas because for decades, this expectation has been met. In a way, they've been cushioned from economic reality that sees the actual employees that are paying for their benefits forced to move away from their home towns in order to afford somewhere to live.
However, in the inception of the welfare state, in Beveridge's proposals, even he said social security policies should be untouchable and they must change according to cost and demand so this setting in stone of policies was never envisaged. There are now welfare rights charities that take the DWP and Govt to court over changes to benefits because they feel that benefit levels must always be protected from change and should only ever increase in sums but it is taking more and more workers to support each person on benefits (and there are more people on benefits now) than in the past.0 -
As an aside, I have a relative who is a lone parent who voluntarily moved from London to Hastings following a relationship breakdown who raves about the place and says she wishes she moved sooner. She is on benefits, with low paid part time work and some student income. It remains to be seen how the residents feel about her presence given her low economic contribution but she loves the place.
I appreciate that the impulse to move came from a decision she freely made rather than being forced to do this by the HB caps or homelessness but Hastings doesn't appear to be the end of the world and its easy to travel from there into London.0 -
Sorry don't see it as the solution and I can only see it causing greater problems in the future.
What is your solution?
Rents are spiralling upwards in London. Is it your preference that caps were not introduced and HB claimants could always find properties in the 30th percentile including in expensive areas where a couple, say a nurse and teacher, could never afford to rent?
Would you like the models operated by other countries where there is no national HB scheme, those lone parents whose partners can't or won't support them must either live with their families or make their child/unemployment benefit stretch to cover rent instead of being paid HB on top?
Personally, I admired a scheme that a housing association ran a few years ago in Shepherd's Bush whereby all new applicants had to agree to mentoring to get them into employment or training before they were granted a tenancy. Problem is, social housing is scarce.
The Scottish government would like to introduce universal child care if they win the vote for independence so that 30 hours of cheap child care will be provided in order to free up parents to find employment. I think this would be a good way to get lone parents into full time work instead of continuing the part time mindset (don't know if the proposed policy sets different hours for different types of household, though).0 -
What is your solution?
Rents are spiralling upwards in London. Is it your preference that caps were not introduced and HB claimants could always find properties in the 30th percentile including in expensive areas where a couple, say a nurse and teacher, could never afford to rent?
Would you like the models operated by other countries where there is no national HB scheme, those lone parents whose partners can't or won't support them must either live with their families or make their child/unemployment benefit stretch to cover rent instead of being paid HB on top?
Personally, I admired a scheme that a housing association ran a few years ago in Shepherd's Bush whereby all new applicants had to agree to mentoring to get them into employment or training before they were granted a tenancy. Problem is, social housing is scarce.
The Scottish government would like to introduce universal child care if they win the vote for independence so that 30 hours of cheap child care will be provided in order to free up parents to find employment. I think this would be a good way to get lone parents into full time work instead of continuing the part time mindset (don't know if the proposed policy sets different hours for different types of household, though).
I don't have an ideal solution nobody does, but concentrating people on benefits in one area with no job prospects is far from a good solution.0 -
What is your solution?
Rents are spiralling upwards in London. Is it your preference that caps were not introduced and HB claimants could always find properties in the 30th percentile including in expensive areas where a couple, say a nurse and teacher, could never afford to rent?
Would you like the models operated by other countries where there is no national HB scheme, those lone parents whose partners can't or won't support them must either live with their families or make their child/unemployment benefit stretch to cover rent instead of being paid HB on top?
Personally, I admired a scheme that a housing association ran a few years ago in Shepherd's Bush whereby all new applicants had to agree to mentoring to get them into employment or training before they were granted a tenancy. Problem is, social housing is scarce.
The Scottish government would like to introduce universal child care if they win the vote for independence so that 30 hours of cheap child care will be provided in order to free up parents to find employment. I think this would be a good way to get lone parents into full time work instead of continuing the part time mindset (don't know if the proposed policy sets different hours for different types of household, though).
Shuffling individuals off to cheaper parts of the country isn't really dealing with the problem just moving it somewhere else. Keeps the capital sweet through economic cleansing. I appreciate it helps the books balance in the short term.
I wonder how equality of opportunity fits in this space?"If you act like an illiterate man, your learning will never stop... Being uneducated, you have no fear of the future.".....
"big business is parasitic, like a mosquito, whereas I prefer the lighter touch, like that of a butterfly. "A butterfly can suck honey from the flower without damaging it," "Arunachalam Muruganantham0 -
grizzly1911 wrote: »Shuffling individuals off to cheaper parts of the country isn't really dealing with the problem just moving it somewhere else. Keeps the capital sweet through economic cleansing?
People who move to cheaper parts of the country to take up jobs, attend Uni, enjoy the countryside or seaside, or because they want to move closer to a partner don't refer to this as 'economic cleansing'.
The HB claimants don't want to move - they are not inspired by personal or economic incentives in the way other social groups are - I appreciate this. They want to stay close to their family and social networks - again understandable - but those pursuing careers and partnerships that make them mobile don't think it is the end of the world when go outside the M25.
As I've stated before, from interviews I've read concerning lone parents in central London facing moves to other parts of London or the surrounds, make out that the distance between Maida Vale and Romford or South London is like travelling to Mars rather than a hop on a train.0 -
People who move to cheaper parts of the country to take up jobs, attend Uni, enjoy the countryside or seaside, or because they want to move closer to a partner don't refer to this as 'economic cleansing'.
The HB claimants don't want to move - they are not inspired by personal or economic incentives in the way other social groups are - I appreciate this. They want to stay close to their family and social networks - again understandable - but those pursuing careers and partnerships that make them mobile don't think it is the end of the world when go outside the M25.
As I've stated before, from interviews I've read concerning lone parents in central London facing moves to other parts of London or the surrounds, make out that the distance between Maida Vale and Romford or South London is like travelling to Mars rather than a hop on a train.
I have never understood the wish to live anywhere near London but everyone is different. I have worked there enough and many people appear to thrive on it for a period. Other posters here also enjoy or enjoyed living there.
I can also appreciate that certain families enjoy being close. It may even be a necessity for some from a shared care responsibilities both up and down the chain.
Living in a distributed family can cause other issues further down the line as senior care and assistance is needed. Who will end up picking up more of the tab for that?"If you act like an illiterate man, your learning will never stop... Being uneducated, you have no fear of the future.".....
"big business is parasitic, like a mosquito, whereas I prefer the lighter touch, like that of a butterfly. "A butterfly can suck honey from the flower without damaging it," "Arunachalam Muruganantham0 -
grizzly1911 wrote: »
Living in a distributed family can cause other issues further down the line as senior care and assistance is needed. Who will end up picking up more of the tab for that?
The main source of this distribution for the lone parents in London discussed in this article is that they do not live with the father of their children who appear not to be supporting them financially or with child care - even if they are in close proximity it appears that the other parent (mainly male) of many lone parents (mainly female) is largely a physical and financial absence.
The statistics for the amount of non-resident parents who provide little or no child maintenance and who fail to keep in contact with their children is heartbreaking.
It's not necessarily about a geographical distance...0 -
The main source of this distribution for the lone parents in London discussed in this article is that they do not live with the father of their children who appear not to be supporting them financially or with child care - even if they are in close proximity it appears that the other parent (mainly male) of many lone parents (mainly female) is largely a physical and financial absence.
The statistics for the amount of non-resident parents who provide little or no child maintenance and who fail to keep in contact with their children is heartbreaking.
It's not necessarily about a geographical distance...
It takes two."If you act like an illiterate man, your learning will never stop... Being uneducated, you have no fear of the future.".....
"big business is parasitic, like a mosquito, whereas I prefer the lighter touch, like that of a butterfly. "A butterfly can suck honey from the flower without damaging it," "Arunachalam Muruganantham0 -
grizzly1911 wrote: »It takes two.
Yes, sometimes the parent with children won't let the non-resident parent have access and there is extensive evidence to suggest non-resident parents often fail to maintain contact with their child or provide financial support.
I think there is also a significant tacit mutual agreement about having children without any need/intention to cohabitate or marry because there is now little stigma attached to lone parents and because since the 80s onwards, the state purse has replaced the non-resident parent as the main source of income for children.
Is it fair to say that part of the increase in HB that the state is struggling to pay for is because lone parents are typically a group that is highly benefit dependent and their numbers have soared exponentially over the last few decades?
Lone parents being shipped out to cheaper areas is perhaps partly due to their high numbers and the growing public expense to support them?
Currently, there are nearly 2 million households headed by a lone parent, up from 1.6 million in 2006 so perhaps this trend means that every 5 years, they could increase by nearly 25%? Perhaps in 2018, there will be 2.4 million lone parents, perhaps in 2023, there might be 3 million?0
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