Council highlights impact of government's welfare changes

Plymouth City Council has produced a report in which it has highlighted what it believes are the effects of the Government's welfare reforms. However, a local MP has told The Plymouth Daily that the Government must reduce spending and is doing so as fairly as possible.

In April this year, the Government introduced changes to the welfare system which saw councils all over the country reducing the amount of benefits issued to many residents.

Labour-led Plymouth City Council believes the main impact of these changes has affected people of working age that claim housing or council tax benefit and has put plans in place to help provide support.

The report claims that under the new rules, 16,024 households in Plymouth have seen, on average, a reduction in their Council Tax benefit of £4 per week - the equivalent of £208 a year.

Changes to housing benefit, often referred to as the ‘bedroom tax’, have also seen a cut in the support received by residents, it says. The council says that a reduction of 14 per cent affects 1,688 households in the city considered to be under occupying their property by one bedroom.

The report's figures state that a further 356 households, considered to be under occupying their property by two bedrooms or more, have their housing benefit decreased by 25 per cent.

Residents who are affected can choose to remain in their home with a reduction in housing benefit, or move to a smaller property.

The report also concludes that a shortage of suitable houses being available has meant there are currently 677 tenants on the Devon Home Choice Register waiting for a property to become available to enable them to downsize. This includes 307 individuals currently living in a two bed property wishing to transfer to a home with one bedroom.

There are currently 5,117 one-bed properties in the city but with an average of 13 becoming available each week, the Council argues that the city cannot plug the gap created by the Government’s policy.

Further changes were introduced earlier this month where a limit or cap has been placed on the total amount of benefit working age claimants can receive. This will see 130 households having their benefits reduced by up to £150 per week.

Councillor Chris Penberthy, Cabinet Member for Co-operatives and Community Development said: “It has already been three months since the changes have been implemented and there are many individuals and families struggling to cope. This may just look like a whole load of stats for many, but for the people this is affecting, it could mean not being able to feed their family or being at risk of becoming homeless.

“The Government have done very little with these changes except increase the social divide and the number of people in our city that are living in poverty. It becomes a downward spiral; people want to find employment but may not be able to afford to pay for transport to get there, it’s a constant catch 22.

“We know that people are struggling to pay their Council Tax and I suspect they are struggling to pay their other bills too. It was only a few weeks back that we placed a ban on the advertising of payday loan websites. The full effects of this are going to rumble on for some time to come and we will absolutely do our best to support people in any which way we can.”

But Conservative MP for South West Devon, Gary Streeter told The Plymouth Daily: "Most right thinking people know that the government has no option but to reduce spending.

"The country is still borrowing £110 billion this year just to pay our bills. The last government spent as though money was going out of fashion and we are having to make tough decisions to get public finances under control.

"Most of my constituents recognise that the welfare state has spiralled out of control under the past government and now needs to be pruned. We are doing this as fairly as possible."

A spokesperson said the Council has been working hard to provide support, advice and information for people affected by the changes. Debt advice and financial capability assistance are among the help that is available. Signposting to other organisations that can help including foodbanks, credit unions and charities is something that has been successful.

Working closely with organisations in the city, the Council also hosted a family advice day for local residents. Due to the feedback they received, the Council is now planning on hosting more events specifically for those claiming carers and disability allowances.

Intensive work has also been carried out with people affected by the recent benefit cap. This has involved working with the DWP and signposting individuals to other forms of support or helping them back into work.

Council departments have also seen an increase in customer enquiries since the changes came into effect. Contact to the Housing Options team has increased by 84 per cent between April and July compared with the same period in 2012 and almost 25 per cent more people have visited the Council to discuss their Housing Benefit.

Face-to-face Council Tax enquiries have also risen by 50 per cent, with telephone enquiries increasing by 38 per cent compared with 2012.

Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Mark Lowry said: “It’s pretty obvious that these forced changes are having a damaging effect on people’s lives and we are doing everything we can to help support them.

“We have proactively been contacting people that are missing Council Tax payments to help avoid charges being applied to their accounts.

“The Council has commissioned financial advice services to help people cope with these changes and we’ve introduced an emergency and welfare fund. The organisations offer information and advice from debt management to careers as well as explaining what you are entitled to, whether that’s benefits or support with housing and food. The Council’s website will be able to provide you with more information.

“We will also be encouraging housing developers to create more smaller sized properties where we can so that we can meet the demand our city requires.”

For more information on the welfare reform changes and the support that is available, visit the Council’s website at www.plymouth.gov.uk/welfarereform or call 01752 668000. Alternatively contact Advice Plymouth on 01752 520052 or www.adviceplymouth.org.uk.