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   New report debunks myths of 'out of control' housing benefit system
A leading housing research charity has published a report which debunks some of the myths that claim that the housing benefit system is out of control. Much has been made in recent weeks of housing benefit rising to exceptional proportions but the evidence, contained in BSHF’s submission to the government’s Spending Review, shows a quite different picture. Specifically the report shows that: * Housing benefit has remained steady as a proportion of the overall benefits bill for around two decades; * Nearly 70 percent of the rise in the housing benefit bill in the economic downturn can be attributed to the rise in working-age claimants. BSHF argues that this is evidence of housing benefit behaving as you would expect – employment falls in a recession and more people need support. The report’s authors do agree that housing benefit needs to be reformed in the long run. They suggest that the system should be simplified and the purpose of the benefit should be clarified. But simply making cuts to housing benefit in a downturn risks increasing bills elsewhere, as local and national government have to deal with the consequences of increased homelessness and poor housing. One report found, using conservative estimates, that homeless people were costing the state £26,000 each per year. Other poor housing outcomes are recognised as having long term impacts on the health and education of residents, which will be very expensive to counteract. One of the report’s authors, Jim Vine, said: “No one doubts the need for reform of the housing benefit system but it is important to challenge these myths to avoid decisions being made in haste that we might come to regret. “The recent increase in housing benefit expenditure is largely due to a significant growth in the number of claimants, which is likely to be due to the rise in unemployment. "Therefore, the most effective way to reduce housing benefit expenditure in the short term will be to ensure that unemployment decreases and the number of claimants drops. Once this has happened a long term plan for a simpler and more sustainable housing benefit can be implemented. "Short term cuts in housing benefit run the risk of creating significant social problems without even reducing overall expenditure.“ The belief that housing benefit is out of control seems to have taken hold at even the highest levels. Just a few weeks ago the Minister for Welfare Reform, Lord Freud, said: “We have here a system that now is really out of control, growing a bit like Japanese knotweed…”. 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. |
