Housing Benefit and the Emergency Budget of June 2010
Author: Jim Vine
Publisher:
Published: 2010
Total Pages: 20
ISBN-13: 9781901742190
DOWNLOAD EBOOKPosts
Changes to housing benefit announced in the June 2010 budget
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Work and Pensions Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Published: 2010-12-22
Total Pages: 216
ISBN-13: 9780215555731
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe Work and Pensions Committee report that there is still a level of uncertainty around the impact of the proposed changes to Housing Benefit and their cumulative effect on households. The report examines the wide-ranging reforms to the Housing Benefit system proposed by the Government, and in particular for claimants in the private rented sector, in receipt of Local Housing Allowance. The Committee accepts the Government's desire to slow the sharp rise in Housing Benefit costs, particularly in the private rented sector, and thereby to influence the private rental market. However, it expresses some concerns about the availability of private rented accommodation in certain localities, which tenants are likely to be able to secure at the new Housing Benefit levels.
June 2010 budget
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Treasury Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Published: 2010-07-23
Total Pages: 116
ISBN-13: 9780215554376
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIn this report the Treasury Committee examine some of the risks and uncertainties in the approach taken by the Chancellor in the June 2010 Budget. The June Budget was more radical towards debt reduction than that taken by the previous government, but it also signalled a move to rebalance the economy away from the public and toward the private sector. The Committee expresses concern that there might be a slight increase in the chance of near-term negative growth, and that the Office for Budget Responsibility's independence has been called into question. It notes that net trade is not expected to contribute positively to GDP growth in 2010, and that the VAT increase will affect inflation. On welfare, the proposals to reduce housing benefit for Jobseeker's Allowance claimants after one year will affect some 300,000 people, and the Committee calls for fuller information about those affected, especially households with children. The aim to make the measures fair in absolute terms and as a proportion of income is supported, though the Committee is concerned that the poorest fare slightly less well than middle income groups. The inclusion of charts showing the distributional effects of the Budget is welcomed. The Committee also comments on the problems faced by small and medium sized enterprise in raising credit and on the bank levy. The Chancellor's statement that he has built an element of caution into the fiscal mandate is taken as a signal that he would introduce measures to stimulate the economy if economic conditions demanded.
Managing the Impact of Housing Benefit Reform
Author: Great Britain: National Audit Office
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Published: 2012-11
Total Pages: 48
ISBN-13: 9780102980462
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAs part of the measures announced in the emergency budget in June 2010 and the Spending Review of October 2010, the Government announced changes to housing benefit, including reductions to local housing allowance rates for private rented sector claimants and deductions in payments to social sector tenants in under-occupied homes. The Department is actively preparing for the implementation of housing benefit reform, using available data to assess the impact of the reforms on current entitlements. It has estimated that the reforms will result in around two million households receiving lower benefits. Claimants with large numbers of children and those living in areas of high rent such as London will be most affected. The Government intends the reforms to improve incentives to work and lead to positive changes for claimants. Reforms could also lead to hardship or an increased risk of homelessness. How tenants and landlords will respond is highly uncertain at the moment and the Department has commissioned independent research to evaluate the impact of the reforms after implementation and is also working with local authorities to identify the extent to which the reforms will increase the administrative. Uprating local housing allowance by the consumer price index, rather than local rent inflation, could put pressure on the supply of affordable local housing. Downward pressure on rents or increased employment would mitigate the impact but NAO analysis indicates that, on current trends, 48 per cent of local authority areas in England could face shortfalls by 2017
The New Politics
Author: Peter King
Publisher: Policy Press
Published: 2011
Total Pages: 168
ISBN-13: 1847428533
DOWNLOAD EBOOKPublished to coincide with the first anniversary of the election, this book looks at the Coalition government in the context of conservative ideas and seeks to assess what, if anything, is new about it.
House of Commons - Welsh Affairs Committee: The Impact of Changes to Housing Benefit in Wales - HC 159
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Welsh Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Published: 2013-10-17
Total Pages: 140
ISBN-13: 9780215062734
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe costs of housing benefit currently makes up more than a tenth of the UK Government's expenditure on welfare, with costs forecast to reach £25 billion by 2014-15. The Government's policy on under-occupation came into force in April 2013 and it is estimated that 40,000 tenants in Wales will be affected; representing 46% of working age housing benefit claimants living in the social rented sector. This is the highest proportion of any region in Great Britain. There could therefore be a shortage of one and two bedroom homes in Wales to re-house everyone who wants to downsize. If local authorities are struggling to find alternative smaller accommodation for Government should undertake a speedy review of this policy. It is also increasingly urgent for the Welsh Government to continue with its house-building programme, with a particular focus on the building of smaller sized properties: obviously this is a long-term solution that would require additional resources. If no social housing is available, tenants may need to move to the private rented sector and private rental costs would need to be monitored. The costs of moving disabled households who require adaptations are also a concern. There may be a case for exempting disabled households from the policy. The Government's proposal to pay housing benefit direct to social tenants under Universal Credit may result in some tenants being unable to manage their rent payments. The Committee recommends that the Government provide for housing benefit to be paid direct to the landlords in certain circumstances, for example after a specified period of non-payment
The Housing Benefit (Amendment) Regulations 2010 (S.I. no. 2010/2835), the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) Amendment Order 2010 (S.I. no. 2010/2836)
Author: Great Britain: Social Security Advisory Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Published: 2010-11-30
Total Pages: 176
ISBN-13: 9780108509551
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIn the June 2010 budget, the Government set out a range of proposals aimed at curbing Housing Benefit expenditure that will be introduced between 2011 and 2013. The measures were referred to the Social Security Advisory Committee and this report outlines their recommendations and the Government's response to those recommendations. Principally these included: the removal of the five bedroom Local Housing Allowance rate so the maximum level is for a four bedroom property; the introduction of absolute caps to the Local Housing Allowance; the removal of £15 weekly Housing Benefit excess; include an additional bedroom with the size criteria where there is a proven need for overnight care that is provided by a non-resident carer; and setting Local Housing Allowance rates at the 30th percentile of rents in each Broad Rental Market Area. The Committee raised a number of concerns about the scale and impact of the changes and recommended that the Government should not go ahead with the package of amendments proposed. Among the Committee's recommendations were that the introduction of the CAP be deferred until October 2011; that initially a full Equality Impact Assessment be carried out and that a transition period be incorporated. The Government however feels that the amendments are the first steps in creating a more balanced affordable system and has decided to proceed.
Department for Work and Pensions
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Published: 2013-03-26
Total Pages: 48
ISBN-13: 9780215055385
DOWNLOAD EBOOKHousing Benefit helps those on a low income in social or private housing to pay all or part of their rent, and supported some five million households in Great Britain in 2011-12 at a cost of £23.4 billion. Reforms aim to reduce annual expenditure by £6.2 billion by the end of 2014-15. The changes are being introduced without comprehensive modelling of the likely outcome on individuals or on housing supply and with limited understanding of the costs local authorities will incur. Those individuals who receive Housing Benefit are by definition on low incomes and even small reductions in entitlement can have a significant impact on their finances. The reforms are expected cut benefits for two million households. The impact of these reforms on claimants' finances may be compounded by other changes to the welfare system. The Department cannot model the impacts of the reforms as they depend on the actions claimants take in response to changes in their individual circumstances. Instead the Department plans to adopt a reactive approach, changing rules as problems arise. Claimants need to understand now how their benefit payments will change and what options they have to minimise the impact on their finances, for example, by taking in a lodger. Strong efforts must be made by the Department, local authorities and Social Housing organisations to inform claimants about the reforms; however, to date the evidence suggests that they have not been effective. Aldo, the Department has failed to take into account the administrative costs of implementing the reforms.
Spending review 2010
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Treasury Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Published: 2010-11-26
Total Pages: 164
ISBN-13: 9780215555403
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe Spending Review 2010 published as Cm. 7942 (ISBN 9780101794220)
Austerity and Working-Class Resistance
Author: Adam Fishwick
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Published: 2018-09-05
Total Pages: 233
ISBN-13: 1786603543
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe working classes today are facing a new set of crises around increasing austerity, authoritarianism, exploitation, and surveillance. But in many places, and in many ways, they are resisting. From new forms of workplace organisation, migrant workers challenging their exploitation, struggles against digitalised work, and through alternative forms of grassroots mobilisation, working-class resistance is emerging in new and often unexpected spaces. Through a range of cases in Europe and from around the world, this book brings radical voices from sociology, political economy, labour relations, and media studies to offer an understanding of the potential of working-class struggles in and against these ‘hard times’. This engaging volume is an attempt to understand how new, dynamic sites of resistance in and outside the workplace are central to the different ways in which workers survive, disrupt, and create new ways of living. The perfect guide for students and academics looking for a critical and comprehensive collection dealing with contemporary and global cases of working-class resistance.
