Housing-related benefit cuts hit Londoners hardest

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has called on the government to stop the roll out of Universal Credit, after new analysis from City Hall showed that welfare cuts over the last decade have led to a rise in the number of people in London forced into homelessness.

The new analysis from City Hall shows that 8,855 people were seen sleeping rough on the streets of London by outreach workers – more than double the number in 2010/11. At the same time, private renters claiming Housing Benefit, including those who work, will receive an average of £1,400 less a year by 2020/21 than would have been the case without the changes in Local Housing Allowance introduced over the last nine years. In Inner East and North London, this figure rises to £3,950.

The data also suggests that households also subject to the Benefit Cap face a shortfall of £5,450, and that social housing tenants subject to the Bedroom Tax will receive an average of £1,050 less.

The creation of Universal Credit in 2013, introduced to replace a range of existing benefits including Housing Benefit, is widely considered to have led to further barriers to claimants maintaining a secure, long-term housing tenancy. The introduction of Universal Credit has also meant that it takes longer for claimants to receive support than was the case with Housing Benefit, and monthly payments can make budgeting more difficult, because low-income households typically budget over time periods shorter than a month.

Khan said: “The government’s introduction of Universal Credit has been an unmitigated disaster and should be stopped before it forces any more Londoners onto the streets. This report sets out in stark detail the brutal impact of nearly a decade of welfare cuts on the lives of Londoners. Whilst it is the actions of central government that is causing the rise in rough sleeping, it’s London that is left to pick up the bill. That’s why these draconian cuts must be reversed immediately.

"We are doing all we can to help Londoners affected by high rents, but without the powers to do more we need the government to play their part. They should urgently reverse their damaging benefit cuts, overhaul tenancy laws to make them fit for purpose, and give me the power to bring in the rent controls Londoners so urgently need."

Dan Wilson Craw, director of Generation Rent: “Without a reliable housing benefit system, Londoners on low incomes are getting into debt, going without food and heating or being forced to move out of neighbourhoods they grew up in. This is fuelling physical and mental ill-health, and, by disrupting educations, devastating the prospects of thousands of children. The government might think it has saved money by stripping renters of support, but the costs of the human misery it creates, through temporary accommodation, the NHS, and social services, are mounting. The government must now scrap the benefit cap so that everyone can cover their essential payments.”