Bob Doris, SNP MSP for Glasgow, has hit out at the UK Government’s planned changes to Housing Benefit which could see over 2,500 Glaswegians that have been unemployed for over a year, and rely on Housing Benefit, have their benefit cut by £8 a week.  Many younger Glaswegians - those under 35 - will also be told that Housing Benefit paid will now be based on shared rented accommodation, as opposed to a single flat rate. 

In terms of impact, the current numbers affected by the shared accommodation change is estimated at around 7,500 with the vast majority being in Edinburgh and Glasgow. It is not clear that all this 7,500 are currently claiming above the Shared Rented Rate but regardless, the change would restrict the options of this group.

These two Tory changes are part of wider reforms to Housing Benefit which will also see - amongst other things - tenants who under occupy their rented accommodation having their Housing Benefit cut also.

The impact of these planned changes is detailed in a Scottish Government research document entitled ‘Housing Benefit changes: Scottish Impact Assessment’ published in the past week.

Commenting on the figures, Bob Doris MSP said: “These changes will affect households who already pay the average price of rent in their area and will now need to find accommodation in the bottom third bracket of rental prices.

“Potentially 2,500 households in Glasgow could be hit by this change alone.  I am extremely concerned that this could have a catastrophic impact on homelessness in our city.

“7,500 young people, 25-34 year olds, are set to lose nearly £55 a week from April, when they will no longer receive support for their own homes and will be forced into shared accommodation.

“In the coming weeks, the UK government is also set to publish a Welfare Reform Bill which is expected to propose further extensive cuts and changes to welfare and benefits.

“I welcome the plans by the Scottish Government to establish an expert group in response to the impending and proposed changes.  This group of Scottish Government, local government, charity and third sector organisations will share knowledge of local impacts to take the strongest possible case for stopping some measures to the UK government.

“The SNP Government will also press for the devolution of powers on welfare and benefits so that they can better protects vulnerable Scots from such an onslaught in the future.

“The publication of this report into the impact of the Tory/LibDem government’s planned benefit cuts shows that thousands of families in Scotland are going to feel the full force of savage cuts by the UK government, on top of the rises in fuel, VAT and inflation.

“In Scotland, we will be working with our third sector groups and local government to ensure we can continue to take the strongest possible case to the UK government to think again.

“We will also be protecting household budgets with innovative home-grown policies such as school clothing grants, freezing council tax, free heating help and abolishing prescription charges.

"The important thing now is for Scotland to have more powers to boost our strategy for economic growth and help people back into work, for example through control over Job Centre Plus so we can streamline health, employment and training services."

Note:

A full copy of the report 'Housing Benefit Changes - Scottish Impact Assessment' can be found here.