Is The Rise In Homelessness A Result Of Govt Welfare Reform?

[Kromovaracun]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41241021

http://news.sky.com/story/welfare-reforms-fuel-rise-in-homelessness-says-national-audit-office-11033248

According to the National Audit Office, the 60% rise in homelessness and 134% rise in rough sleepers since 2010 is highly likely to have been caused by the government's welfare reforms, including a four-year freeze on housing benefits while rent prices increased dramatically.

Do you find this a plausible explanation? If so, do you believe these measures are justified?

[Mamyalynne]

As with anything that affects people this is a many stranded situation , the cuts obviously do play a role.

[Spicerack]

Could be something to do with immigration. (puts tin hat on)

[albaqwerty]

cuts in unemployment benefits/pip benefits, added to cuts in housing benefits and the cost of heating and eating can prove too much for some.
Councils and mortgage companies can only have so much sympathy.

A 134% rise since 2010 is utterly shocking.

[Sqad]

Yes Kromo it could.
I am not making a Political point as to which Party caused the problem, but the facts as i see them.

National UK debt including borrowing in and around 2007 was almost a £Trillion.......trillion and both main political parties agreed that cut to public services had to be made.....some were designated ring fenced, others were going to take the brunt.
The Labour Party said that we must pull our belt in gradually and the Conservatives said that it should be done quickly.
In direct answer to your question, with the facts above......yes, homes were reduced as everything else.

[ladybirder]

If it is down to the cuts in Housing Benefit etc these cuts would apply to everyone on HB wouldn't they? So how come some can manage and some can't? Rent should be the first thing on your list to pay every month if you want to avoid losing your home.

[Kromovaracun]

//So how come some can manage and some can't?//

People have differing circumstances. Some have families who can support them, some receive enough from their job to keep them afloat (others, however, have been falling on the sharp end of the wage stagnation that has also been taking place since 2010). All kinds of things.

Sqad - I think it's probably worth questioning why our debt was so high at the time, as it was a direct result of the govt's response to the financial crisis (i.e. something which was probably unavoidable). Obviously both parties agreed that the debt needed to be paid off, but it's a question of who actually does the paying.

[Spicerack]

Must say, I don't understand why 'they' stopped paying people's rent straight to the HA, Council, landlord, etc.
That seemed a recipe for 'disaster'.

[albaqwerty]

agree with you on that Spice.
(hope you don't mind the abbreviation)

Those who have problems and are in receipt of HB may just be tempted to spend their extra dosh on their 'luxuries' (to try and being polite about it)

[Mamyalynne]

That's one strand, another is the shortfall between LHA and actual rent payable - that varies a lot depending on area.

[New Judge]

Of course the two people who are the subject of this question:

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/News/Question1570296-3.html

Contribute to the rise in the number of homeless. I don't see anything in the government's welfare reforms which are forcing them to remain on the streets.

[Kromovaracun]

The report in full

https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Homelessness.pdf

Estimates over 120,000 children are homeless.

[Kromovaracun]

Do you really find it plausible that all these people are homeless out of choice, NJ? Or could that case maybe be something of a bizarre outlier?

[New Judge]

I've no idea why they are homeless, Kromo. I only know about the to I mentioned. Yes I agree they may not be typical but it seems the government's wicked welfare reforms have not stretched far enough to threaten the 18k a year proposed to spend in dealing with those two so let's just say I'm not 100% convinced that all the people on the streets are victim's of the government's apparent wickedness.

[Mamyalynne]

Of course not, there are many reasons the reforms are but one.

[cassa333]

You would have to know the circumstances of everyone on the list because there are probably many reasons for homelessness.

If the welfare cuts are a major contributing factor to this problem how do you propose it is addressed?

If you have a family your fist responsibility is to provide a roof over their heads and food. Everything else can be sourced from charities and such like.

[Purist]

Wage freezes, rental increases, inflation. Some people are very fortunate to have the support of extended family to stop them from going under. The agenda the media likes to portray of the workshy family who spend their LHA on booze and weed is not true of the majority who struggle to make ends meet in the face of low wages and the fear of losing their job, it only takes a landlord to up the rent on their property to push them to the brink.

I don't know many people who are having the life of riley at the moment, everyone is struggling in one way or another.

[naomi24]

Doubt it. More likely due to greater requirement. More people = the need for more homes.

[New Judge]

Of course, the nail on the head from naomi.

The country's population has been growing at an alarming rate over recent years and there are simply not enough homes to cope with demand. An ever-increasing population is simply unsustainable (with lack of homes being just one problem). The population needs to be stabilised but there is absolutely no chance of that happening whilst people are paid extra dosh every time they add to their brood and a quarter of a million new arrivals are turning up every year. Over-population is causing severe problems in many parts of the world and it's beginning to make itself felt in parts of Europe, and especially the UK. The effects of so-called "climate change" will seem like a walk in the park when the effects of excessive population grab hold.

[Garaman]

I hardly think the population has increased by 130% since the Tories came to power. I know, let's deflect the argument and pretend climate change isn't happening.

[naomi24]

Garaman, your logic is askew. The figures don’t suggest that the population has increased by 130%, but that there is an increase in the number requiring accommodation. It stands to reason that newcomers will place an extra burden on the system.