Frank words on welfare reform
Posted: April 9, 2014 | Author: julesbirch | Filed under: Bedroom tax, Housing benefit, Poverty, Social housing, Universal credit, Welfare reform | Tags: Iain Duncan Smith, Joseph Rowntree Foundation |5 CommentsGetting the same criticism from different people is usually a sign you’ve got something wrong. How about for IDS and the DWP?
Three different reports published this morning amplify earlier warnings about the implementation of the bedroom tax, the wider impact of welfare reform on tenants and landlords and the prospects for universal credit. But it would surprise nobody if the work and pensions secretary saw them as yet more evidence that his reforms are a success.
Two of them come from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF). Steve Wilcox finds that what he neutrally calls the ‘housing benefit size criteria’ has affected fewer people than expected but that half of those are in arrears and 100,000 who want to downsize are trapped and unable to move. Anne Power concludes that welfare reforms may end up making tenants more, rather than less, dependent and are making them more vulnerable.
The third is from the work and pensions committee and warns that it is still not clear that universal credit will work. The MPs on the all-party committee think that implementation will be delayed even further and have some strong words about Iain Duncan Smith’s attitude towards their scrutiny.
Read the rest of this post on Inside Edge, my blog for Inside Housing
Jules Birch 
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I have come across a new party, that has now held its first national conference and so able to progress towards campaigning for the 201t general election.
The Left Unity Party http://leftunity.org/
From their conference report they state as policy motions passed:
Economics
… ” measures to raise the minimum wage to a living wage and a major programme of green jobs and ‘purple jobs’ (jobs in the care sector).” …
… “Housing
Felicity Dowling from Liverpool branch moved the main motion on housing with a well-received speech calling for Left Unity to be “the party of housing”.
The main planks of this policy are a call for publicly-owned and democratically-controlled housebuilding – council housing and cooperative housing –
as well as backing the campaign to end the hated ‘bedroom tax’.
Other measures in the detailed policy include:
housebuilding being eco-friendly,
removal of housing benefit caps,
rent controls on private landlords and provision for LGBTQ people.
An amendment saw a discussion around the level of rents:
it was decided they should be affordable for all.” …
Also in a reply to me by email the Left Unity Party offers pensioners a link of rises for state pension back to the average wage (at the moment £26,000 per year)
Currently the state pension is withering away, being lost for many from 2016.
See if you lose most or all of your state pension:
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/state-pension-at-60-now
Welfare Reform? I have just returned from signing on,instead of my usual Advisor I had a “Hit Squad” Advisor. After the greetings I was asked “So still no Job?” I explained that I have taken more steps than required,but still no joy,she looked at my Claimant Commitment book and asked for my E-mail address “Why have you not allowed access to your UJM account” because I was lied too and was told it was Mandatory…”You are not giving enough detail about your Job search in the booklet,I may have to raise a doubt” I produced my daily Job search note book “Sorry it has to be in the booklet” I replied that all the info she required would not fit in the 3X5 provided in the booklet..If you want I will printout a screen shot on the JCP computer ” That will not be time or cost effective” What do you suggest? I will allow access to my UJM account if you write a Job Seekers Directive,but first I suggest that you check the UJM Tool Kit and ask your Manager….She changed the subject to other actions she could take such as daily signings,I replied Great,when can I start..and can you put me forward for the CWP/Work Placement? I believe it starts this Month? As I completed the WP 6 Months ago and according to the DWP press release,I should be on a Work Placement,Training or MIR within days or finishing the WP,It seems that this has not happened..Why? ………”We have lag time in the roll out of these programmes,we have no start date” Can I collect my Bus tickets and sign on times for the following week? “We are not conducting daily signing on at this time” ????? Did I miss something?