Information Bulletin

Summary of News and Publications from the Week ending 28 March 2013

JRF Activity
Summary The impact of localising council tax benefit. 2.4 million low-income families will pay on average 138 more in council tax in the year 2013/14. Latest from Austerity in the UK Mary OHara speaks to people in Northern Ireland who fear the worst is still to come. Personal tragedies tell story of policy failures in Northern Ireland - Blog from Quintin Oliver Council Tax Benefit Reform creates postcode lottery for the poorest Blog from Sabrina Bushe of the New Policy Unit. When a housing bubble bursts, we face human tragedy and an economic nightmare Blog from Julia Unwin We need more clarity from Cameron on immigration Blog from Emma Stone

Poverty
Results from Poverty and Social Exclusion UKs PSE: UK 2012 study will be broadcast on ITV at 7.30pm on Thursday, 28 March in a special 'Tonight' programme on Breadline Britain. The study 'The impoverishment of the UK' will be made available on the PSE website today (Thursday 28th). New DEMOS analysis estimates that up to 3.7 million disabled people will lose a total of 28 billion in income through the simultaneous welfare cuts. At the highest end of the scale, it calculates that 26,600 disabled people will lose 17,000 to 23,000 between now and 2018 and a further 12,500 people will lose 11,517 each. Why is the Government unable to assess what the impact of benefit cuts will be? writes Deputy Director of Demos, Claudia Wood. Councils in England will begin to issue food vouchers, rather than the current cash loans to help vulnerable people in short term cash difficulties. The vouchers will be given in the form of payment cards will be part of the local welfare assistance schemes, which replace the Government run social fund. Job Centres have issued food bank vouchers to 6,000 people in the last year the Trussell Trust, which runs 325 food banks, has seen double the number of people referred from unemployment offices in the last few months. The second in a series of reports on the impact of benefit changes on people in Northern Ireland looks at size restrictions in the social housing sector, changes in Employment and Support Allowance and the introduction of the Personal Independence Payment. A new report from the Policy Exchange suggests that only 30% of part time workers who expressed a desire for full time work were actively looking for full time work. It recommends that conditions should be put in place to encourage in-work claimants to do all they can to increase their hours and earnings. Slow Progress: improving progression in the UK labour market is a response to the DWPs labour market interventions consultation.

A new report is calling for London to be treated as a special case with regard to welfare reforms. Compared to other cities, London is forecast to have proportionately more affected households due to the high level of housing costs and the impact of the benefits cap. Tracking Welfare Reform: the changing role of local authorities. A report from Citizens Advice Scotland says that welfare reforms so far have hit people in Scotland harder than expected. A Tidal Wave of Change presents evidence of the impact on families with children, people with disabilities, families at risk of destitution and benefits claimants as a whole. 50 social policy academics send an open letter to David Cameron using him to reconsider welfare cuts which it is estimated will mean the poorest tenth of households losing the equivalent of 38% of their income. Mark Easton reports from Glasgow on how those with a lack of IT skills could lose out as benefit claims move online. The usability of government digital services is examined in a new report by the National Audit Office. The research found low awareness of online services, a preference for face to face contact and unwillingness to share personal information were the main reasons people choose not to use more online services. David Cameron outlines proposed new benefit and housing rules for migrants. See Downing Street Press Release.

Place
A new report concludes that the Government are unable to predict the effect of the housing benefit reform, have overestimated the subsequent savings and underestimated the size for the discretionary payments fund. The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee report Managing the Impact of Housing Benefit Reform. A new National Audit Office report says that the new homes bonus scheme overestimated the number of homes it is likely to deliver by 32,000, due to a lack of evidence and errors in calculations. The launch of the Renewable Heat Incentive, the scheme to encourage people to install renewable heating systems in their homes, has been delayed from Autumn 2013 to Spring 2014. The latest survey of social landlords reveals that more than 60% have no plans to let tenants use the Green Deal scheme, although in 40% of cases, this is because a final decision has yet to be made. The Government has announced that a consultation will be launched before the summer recess to finalise the Allowable Solutions mechanism, where builders compensate for any underinvestment/ investment not possible in energy efficiency in their properties. The number of people in Scotland asking for homelessness assistance fell by 12% in October to December 2012, compared with a year earlier. The fall has been attributed to the impact of housing options and homelessness prevention strategies. Although the Scottish Government has performed well on some housing targets, there are still serious concerns about affect the long term supply of social housing according to the findings of Housing Report for Scotland, a report published jointly by Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers (ALACHO), CIH Scotland, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) and Shelter Scotland. The number of affordable homes registrations has jumped from 1,373 in February 2012 to 3,000 in the same month of 2013.

Wales will launch its New Buy mortgage guarantee scheme on 3 June. Creating Garden Cities and Suburbs Today a guide for councils is a new publication from the Town and Country Planning Association, to help councils to take advantage of the benefits of garden cities to provide innovative solutions to housing and high-quality communities. The Department of Energy and Climate Change is claiming that households are paying 5% less for their energy bills due to climate change and energy policies, and the net saving is expected to reach 11% by 2020. Britains most and least affordable cities have been ranked by Lloyds TSB, comparing house prices with average earnings. Bradford and both Hull make the top ten most affordable places.

An Ageing Society
The Nuffield Trusts report into its review of whether a provider ratings system should be used in health and social care has concluded that the costs and benefits for providers of social care and for general practices were favourable, but hospitals would require other conditions to be in place to make it work. Thousands of people aged 75 and over are being socially excluded because of a lack of access to transport. A new WRVS report Going Nowhere Fast provides recommendations for public and community transport. A Guardian survey of 81 councils found that half are planning to cut their adult social care provision in the next year, as council leaders implement the fourth cost reduction programme in three years. A new report from United for All Ages aims to show the benefits of cross-generational living and developing new build properties with this concept in mind. Research has linked social isolation with poor health. The findings suggest that isolation from family and friends was linked to a 26% higher risk of death over seven years. This was found to occur whether the person felt lonely or not. This Information Bulletin is produced on a weekly basis as an update for staff at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) and the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust (JRHT) for the purposes of their work it is not intended to be comprehensive but represents a selection of news and reports appearing in the last week. The items contained in this Bulletin are for information only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the JRF and JRHT.