By Vivienne Russell
8 November 2010
Households in almost a third of councils outside London will lose £50 a month or more as a result of the government’s Housing Benefit caps, a housing and homelessness charity has claimed.
Research from Shelter found that the effect of the cuts would not only be felt in the capital, but much more widely.
In 81 of the 283 local authorities outside the capital, two-bedroom households will lose an average of £50 or more, while in 156 they will lose an average of £30 when the cuts are implemented next October.
Shelter chief executive Campbell Robb said: ‘The focus of the debate so far has been the cap to Housing Benefit and the impact on London, but this analysis shows that these cuts will affect hundreds of thousands of people across the country.
‘Many are those already on low incomes such as pensioners, disabled people, carers and people in low-paid jobs who will really struggle to find the extra money they will need to keep a roof over their head.’
The charity warns that the cap could change the characters of cities and rural areas alike as claimants are pushed into areas with the cheapest housing.
‘Not only are these changes a huge threat to England’s mixed and diverse communities, but they may ultimately act as a disincentive to work if the minority of unemployed claimants are unable to live in areas with job opportunities while the 300,000 claimants who are in work have to move away from their jobs.’
MPs are due to debate the Housing Benefit changes tomorrow.
