UK housing benefit changes 'will harm Scotland'

Posted: 28 Jan 2011 12:52:01 GMT

The Scottish government has warned of the potential impact of housing benefit changes.

The changes to the UK housing benefit system will push tens of thousands of households into "severe hardship", the Scottish government asserts.

According to Alex Neil, the housing and communities minister for Scotland, the April reforms will result in 55,000 households north of the border having to move out of their home or losing housing benefit, within nine months

Nearly £55 a week will also be removed for 7,500 Scottish residents aged 25 to 34, starting in April.

Mr Neil says he understands changes have to be made, "but these measures are penalising the very people we should be protecting. It's slash-and-burn economic policy, cutting too fast, too far and too quick and will force people out of their homes".

The Department for Work and Pensions announced the reforms to housing benefits last year.

Other modifications include the removal of the £15-a-week housing benefit excess which some individuals obtain under local housing allowance arrangements.

Meanwhile, financial support for a one-bedroom home will be capped at £250, increasing to £290 for a two-bedroom property.
 

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