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Housing costs restored for young people - climbdown!
Well!
When?
What an embarrassment for this Tory Government.
Just told someone they would get no help earlier so a rather hurried email to check this out sent!
When?
Good question - I’d like to know too. I’ve just been told “There is no specific timescale….”
Its not a very big climbdown
I doubt anyone will really notice so there will be minimal political embarrasment to McVey / governement although the reasons given are a credit to the DWP media spin team!
I’m not meaning to nit-pick, in fact I’m eating crisps while I read through this, but HB was never restricted for 18-21yro - as we all know it was housing costs under UC that they restricted. And as Peter points out fewer than 5% were hit by it.
Just spoken to a social worker not 60mins ago pointing out her 19yro can claim HB when she was insisting HB was stopped for 18-21yro a few years ago.
Where are the jobs in newspapers for welfare rights officers to check through these stories before the papers send them out?
It would also be appropriate to make it compulsory for DWP to set out the statement withdrawing such a policy right next to the vacuous, boasting gust of PR hot air upon which it was launched so that people could see just how they had been misled…..
I’ve been following this closely. Not just for work, but personal reason for personal reasons (my 18yr old son about to embark on non advanced education).
I was told yesterday at a UC stakeholder meeting, there will still be restrictions, totally confused. It seems my 18 yr old son will not meet criteria and therefore not get HB. There are a number of young people attending non advanced colleges who are going to be disadvantaged.
I take it there has not been a single word from DWP since the announcement itself???
New House of Commons Library briefing on the subject confirms that -
No date for implementation has been announced.
Any news on when yet or are they hoping we won’t notice
I’ve not heard anything…I’ll query it via stakeholders forum…
The situation regarding Housing Costs and 18-21 yr old is still waiting for a date. I have a number of students having to choose between eating or paying rent. Despite a deluge of emails to MP’s nothing seems to moving forward. I expect Brexit is keeping this one in the waiting queue
While we wait, let’s play a game. Let’s call it ‘Reverse Ferret’.
The point of the game is to make an announcement that makes you sound tough and decisive, then to make the opposite announcement and try to make it sound as if you’re being consistent.
Here we go:
FERRET:
In a 2012 speech, the Chancellor questioned whether young people who have never worked should have access to independent housing.
The PM called for everyone under 25 to be ‘earning or learning’ and pledged to remove entitlement to Housing Benefit for unemployed people aged 18 to 21.
Entitlement to housing costs was removed from April 2017 to “ensure young people in the benefits system face the same choices as young people who work and who may not be able to afford to leave home”.
Savings estimates varied - £40m, £95 million, £65m.
On 11/1/18, DWP statistics showed that 96 per cent of 18 to 21-year-old universal credit housing costs claimants had been awarded support since automatic entitlement for new claims ended.
So presumably nothing at all was ‘saved’.
REVERSE FERRET:
On 29/3/18 the Secretary of State said:
‘Currently, 18-21 year-olds who make a new claim to universal credit in universal credit Full Service areas need to meet certain requirements in order to receive housing support. The change I am announcing today means that young people on benefits will be assured that if they secure a tenancy, they will have support towards their housing costs in the normal way.’
‘This decision ensures that there are no unintended barriers to young people accessing housing on the basis of their age alone and getting into work, and is in line with the Government’s launch of the Homelessness Reduction Act and our commitment to eradicating rough sleeping by 2027.’
Extra points awarded for any ability to say that the policy was an ‘unintended barrier’ with a straight face.