In a recent statement, Amber Rudd MP, who was appointed Secretary for Work & Pensions following Esther McVey MP’s resignation, has advised that she will listen to expert guidance with the aim of fixing Universal Credit.
Housing Rights held its annual conference on the private rented sector on 21 November. This year’s conference was sponsored by TDS NI and focused on changes, challenges and collaborations in the sector. The day was grouped into four themes:
Yesterday’s budget contained a number of measures designed to mitigate some of the most controversial aspects of Universal Credit. Here’s a quick run through of the most relevant housing and welfare announcements.
Regulations were issued in August expanding the existing capital disregards relating to benefit arrears. Capital, resulting from a benefit arrear payable as a result of an error or on a point of law can now be disregarded for the lifetime of the benefit award. Previously, such capital could only have been disregarded for a maximum period of 52 weeks.
The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has recently launched guidance for Departmental staff on what changes of circumstance trigger natural migration to Universal Credit.
Universal Credit is being rolled out at present and replaces the following benefits:
Community Housing Cymru, a body representing housing associations and housing mutuals in Wales, has reported that Universal Credit is increasingly leading to social housing tenants falling into arrears.
The Scottish Government's 2018 Annual Report on Welfare Reform has estimated that UK Government welfare cuts mean that £3.7 billion less is going to be on social security in Scotland by 2020/21. Additionally, the report find that reduced benefit spending is a key driver of increased poverty rates for lone parent families and families with three or more children.
A policy briefing: ‘Recommendations for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) in Northern Ireland pre and post 2020, following a meeting with the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Communities to discuss the operation of Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) as part of a delegation led by Nichola Mallon, MLA.
