Thu 15 Nov 2018, 14:35 PM | Posted by editor
Letter by Mark Langabeer, Newton Abbot CLP (personal capacity)
Panorama’s investigative reporter Catrin Nye heads north to Flintshire in North Wales to discover whether the rollout of Universal Credit has been a success or not. Universal Credit replaces up to six different benefits, with the alleged aim of making ‘work pay’. Nye discovers that the change is driving more people into poverty and homelessness.
The head of Housing in Flintshire stated that rent arrears had risen by £450,000 since UC had been introduced. Panorama has discovered that rent arrears had grown from an average of £243 to £663 nationally. In Flinshire, arrears have risen six-fold since the change.
One of the features of UC is that housing benefit, which used to be paid direct to the council or private landlord, is given to the claimant. As one councillor put it, “if it’s a choice between feeding the family and paying rent, feeding the kids will come first.” The idea behind this change is that it is supposed to mirror life in work. However, claimants some suffer from mental health problems or lead chaotic lives and find money management difficult. UC is driving some of the most vulnerable people into homelessness rather than work.
Another consequence of UC is that it transfers the costs/losses from central government to councils, who have already borne the brunt of cuts in their budgets. The rise in rent arrears means that councils will have less revenue to build new homes which are desperately needed. Flintshire had only 346 private landlords willing to house those on housing benefits. Under UC this figure has fallen to just 50.
Another feature of UC is that applications can only be done online. Half of all applicants stated that they required assistance in claiming the benefit. Mistakes have resulted in many having to use foodbanks. In Flintshire, food bank usage has doubled since the introduction of UC. Evictions have risen by 55% and the majority of landlords are reporting a rise in rent arrears. One of the first tasks of a Labour Government, which can’t come soon enough, is to scrap Universal Credit.
You can still see this Panorama programme on BBC i-player
