The Guardian said that the idea was "floated by No 10 earlier this week but is yet to be developed into a concrete proposal". A 'Downing Street source' told the paper:
"We are always looking at ways to change the welfare system to reward hard work and make work pay"and questioned if it was fair to allow unemployed young people to be able to live independently supported by housing benefits when there are many low paid young people living with their parents and who can't afford to move out.
The Mail claimed that "thousands of unemployed youngsters are claiming housing benefit through a loophole the Government is hoping to slam shut".
Housing benefit for young single private renters is already limited to the cost of renting a single room in a shared house, and the government has recently extended this restriction, which previously applied to the under 25s, to those aged 25 to 34.
Kay Boycott from Shelter warned that not all young people had family who could or would help them, telling the Guardian:
"If true, these proposals would leave thousands of vulnerable young people, many of whom may have experienced family breakdown or abuse, with nowhere else to go."
Thanks to @Community_Land for heads up on an excellent Shelter blog article in response to this Downing Street policy idea.
ReplyDeleteKate Webb points out "staying at home is not an option for everyone. Last year nearly 10,000 households in priority need were recognised as homeless after they were thrown out by their parents. Many more won’t have shown up in the statistics and will have resorted to sofa surfing, hostels or at worst the streets. If a family home is overcrowded it’s not uncommon for older children to be told to leave. Others will have gone through the care system, irretrievably lost contact with their parents or been orphaned. Parents may have downsized or divorced, making it difficult to return."
The Guardian's Hannah Fearn has now added her voice to the condemnation of the suggestion that under 25s be barred from receiving HB.
ReplyDeleteShe writes:
"Today's generation of young adults is trapped in an economy that leaves hundreds of applicants chasing a single vacancy, marred by unemployment blackspots where work is almost impossible to find.
"Many young people move away from these areas to find work, and need a little support through the housing benefit system to help them get started when they do. Return them to their home town and you create a dependent for life, with no experience of work and no prospect of employment."