Homelessness rise 'likely to have been driven by welfare reforms'

How about this for fake news:-*I'm alright Jack*

Likely to have been driven is not is/was driven , so pass

Well done, Annie.
You really are no longer a socialist.

The Thatcher government set up the National Audit Office in 1983, with the idea of supporting Tory ideals.
I am pleased she did, as it shows just how wrong the Tory austerity is.
Will you believe Shelter on the same subject?
Will you believe the JRF on the same subject?

How many people do you want to be homeless before you will believe any of them?

24housing's take on it.

www.24housing.co.uk/news/government-has-not-evaluated-the-impact-of-its-reforms-on-homelessness/

"An NAO report released today (Sept 13) says the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) does not have a published cross-government strategy to prevent and tackle homelessness – despite acknowledging the scale of the challenge and plans to improve the data the government holds on homelessness."

The government knows the problem but is doing nothing about it.

www.welfareweekly.com/dwp-using-benefit-sanctions-to-force-claimants-into-zero-hours-jobs-tory-minister-admits/

Thank you for that link Gracesgran.

For those who prefer not to read links, here are some of the salient facts contained in the report:

Private sector rents have gone up 3 times as much as wages.

There is a 4 year freeze on housing benefit and other benefits have also been frozen or cut.

In London rents have gone up by 24% - 8 times the average wage increase.

Homelessness has risen by 60% over the last 6 years (this includes 120,540 children)

There has been an increase of 134% in rough sleepers since the Conservative government came into power.

My feeling is, it seems unlikely that it is merely a coincidence that all this has happened since the Conservatives got into power.

Some say it's a price worth paying but they're not generally the ones who are homeless.

NAO [National Audit Office] head, Amyas Morse, said: “Homelessness in all its forms has significantly increased in recent years, driven by several factors. Despite this, government has not evaluated the impact of its reforms on this issue, and there remain gaps in its approach.

“It is difficult to understand why the department persisted with its light touch approach in the face of such a visibly growing problem. Its recent performance in reducing homelessness therefore cannot be considered value for money”.

It's not difficult to understand at all. The government prefers to look the other way while uttering platitudes and doing exactly what suits themselves.

But they are just the people you step over when leaving the Opera.
No it's not a coincidence that homelessness has increased under a Tory Government, it always does.

Does anyone on here know why paying Housing Benefit direct to landlords was discontinued? This hasn't helped people on benefits looking for rented accommodation - it was mentioned on the radio this week, but not elaborated on.

Because they didn't think it through.
The DWP want to just pay one lot of benefit, which includes housing benefit. Therefore it must be paid to the person receiving the benefit.
Unfortunately with the roll-out of Universal Credit, there is a gap of six weeks when being moved onto it. Those getting benefits cannot afford a gap of six weeks in their payments.
They have to buy food and pay power bills first. Housing benefit comes down the line.

www.24housing.co.uk/news/universal-credit-fuelling-rent-arrears-for-private-sector-tenants/

My DD was very happy that payment of housing benefit started to be paid to her rather than to the landlord.

Previously, she had had problems caused by DWP "mistakes" meaning her rent wasn't paid and her landlord saw her as an unreliable tenant.

Getting payment to herself means she is immediately aware if something has gone wrong and can sort it out, while also making sure that her rent is paid regularly.

If a landlord does have problems in getting rent from a DWP tenant, they can apply to have the rent paid directly to them.

I think Jen is right; it was to do with being able to cap Universal Credit. We really cannot sort housing benefit out until we sort housing out and build some more.

My small homelessness charity is currently dealing with three situations where children are involved. Heartbreaking! There is also much 'hidden' homelessness that the government figures don't take into account - and more and more of the 'sofa surfers' we're seeing are people in their late 50's and early 60's who live in a state of permanent anxiety because of their housing situation. I can't see how things can do anything other than get worse for the foreseeable future.

Thanks for the explanation dj.

If we did not help DS with the rent for his ludicrously expensive flat he and his girlfriend and son would be homeless. Although I say ludicrously expensive it seems to be the going rate for private renting in this area. With only one child they don't even qualify for the bottom of the housing list and the housing benefit they used to get has been withdrawn. Both of them are working - or in Theresa May's words "bringing home a salary to support their family" except that it doesn't support them at all.

How would you answer this question?

Is there some other explanation on why rents have gone up so much other than the increased demand caused by massive levels of inward migration?

(I know, but it was asked)

Greedy landlords?

How does inward migration cause rents to go up yet at the same time depress wages? These immigrants - can't be trusted.

Newsnight is looking at whether austerity had any responsibility for Grenfell.
How?
It was the richest borough with the greatest reserves. There was no need for the council to save money on cladding, etc.

I wonder if the Grenfell survivors have been included in these figures.
80% still not been rehoused.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/grenfell-tower-fire-survivors-emergency-hotel-accommodation-80-per-cent-165-households-three-months-a7945176.html

the amount of new legislation here in Scotland for private landlords is seeing them selling up in droves.Its not greed to want to turn a profit on a large investment .We have tenents who have been with us for 7 years or more ,their rent hasn't risen since they moved in.They get excellent service when anything goes wrong ,repairs generally done immediately ( as long as we can get a tradesman ) and we'll decorate to suit them when they ask .The current cost of a 4 bedroom with a 35 foot open plan living /kitchen/dining area,seperate utility ,a small garden and great views over beautiful countryside is £550 a month.We invested a lot of money to make this home perfect for the tenant,should we be renting it at a lower cost? We will in the future maybe want to sell when prices rise,but in this area they are just becoming stable after 10 years on a slide THIS is our pension fund ,our tenants are happy ,so happy they tell friends and we always have people waiting for a flat/house to become vacant.I do undertsnd that there are bad landlords BUT please dont tar us all with the same brush.The lack of council houses isn't down to private landlords thats the main effect of the right to buy..which is no longer available in Scotland

How does inward migration cause rents to go up yet at the same time depress wages? These immigrants - can't be trusted.

I know Jen but the person who asked it believed the 'massive levels' bit.

durhamjen
In answer to your question @ 22.35: supply and demand, simples.
In 2011, 6yrs ago our population was 63.2 mil. Now it's 65/66+ mil.
More people want housing, housing shortage, rents go up.
Only so many jobs, lots of people want those jobs, wages drop, simples.

Sorry, paddyann, I didn't mean people like you, I meant greedy landlords.
We paid £600 a month rent for a three bedroomed bungalow when we first moved to this village in 2010.

My granddaughter is paying more than that for a two-bed flat in Salford, but that's to a landlord who owns about fifty similar in the same few blocks. He puts his rent up every year.
Tony Blair and his wife have bought 38 properties since he left Downing Street, lots of them flats in Stockport. They own ten houses and 27 flats between the family, most of them rented out. I call them greedy landlords.