SalfordOnline
Your local community website
   Lord Freud unveils housing benefit shake-up for disabled
by Ross Macmillan
The Government today unveiled plans to shake up housing benefit for disabled people. Ministers believe the current system is outdated and will be too costly in the long-term. Launching a consultation paper, junior work and pensions minister Lord Freud said: "In the face of rising expenditure in this area, it is important to find the right balance between protecting reasonable rents and providing effective expenditure control for the taxpayer. "Consequently, any changes will need to be cost neutral overall." He said many supported housing tenants who lived in properties owned by not-for-profit bodies had housing benefit based under "more generous rules". Lord Freud added: "These rules have been in place since the mid-90s and no longer fit the way personal care and support are now commonly delivered. "These rules have also become complex both to administer and understand." He said the Government wanted to help disabled people live in the community rather than care homes while being "fair, affordable and sustainable". He said people living in hostels, refuges and purpose-built sheltered accommodation, "where residents commonly need less intensive personal care and support", would receive the local housing allowance with fixed extras. But ministers have yet to decide how much people needing more help and living in specially-adapted housing or specifically-built homes, such as bungalows with ramps and rails, should receive. Lord Freud stressed the Government was "not looking to cut expenditure, but to better direct it". Photo: Lord Freud Source: 24dash.com Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
|
