A nationwide problem

Last week, homelessness charity Crisis released some figures detailing the spread of the housing benefit cuts across the country. These figures are part of Crisis’ analysis of the Work and Pensions department’s impact assessment on local housing allowance reforms, which came out last month, but they do show that the blow will be felt across the country.

Here are the ten local authority areas which will be hit hardest by the cuts:

•    18,870 households in Birmingham
•    15,610 in Leeds
•    12,620 in Liverpool
•    12,550 in Brighton
•    12,420 in Blackpool
•    11,180 in Cornwall
•    10,470 in Bradford
•    10,210 in Manchester
•    9,660 in City of Edinburgh
•    9,650 in Brent

Crisis has broken the figures for London down into boroughs, as with the rest of the country, which means the strength of the impact across the city as a whole is not clear, but what this analysis does demonstrate is that housing benefit is not just a concern for tenants in London.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen MPs in London come together to fight the reforms, while Boris Johnson is coming up with his own plans to present to ministers. We’ve had two London councils sign up to our campaign as well. But outside of London, feelings are running just as high.

New Labour MP for Houghton and Sunderland South Bridget Phillipson has spoken out against the effect of the reforms in her own constituency. In a piece for progressive political website Progress Online, she said: ‘The ConDem government’s aim is not to support families in this situation; its measures will simply push families and the most vulnerable in our society into poverty, debt and unemployment.’

In Scotland, Labour MSP for Glasgow Central Anas Sarwar has also called for the DWP to change its plans to cut housing benefit payments, and when I spoke to Grimsby MP Austin Mitchell about a tenant in his constituency a few weeks ago, he blasted the changes. The Liberal Democrat MP for Colchester, Bob Russell, started a campaign in his party against the reforms when he realised the impact that the reforms would have on major cities across the country. And Green Party MP Caroline Lucas is furious about what will happen to tenants in her Brighton constituency.

Even though it is great news that a movement against the reforms is galvanising in London, tenants in the rest of the country mustn’t be forgotten. There are families facing homelessness from seaside towns on the South coast to Sunderland, which is why the alternative offer that our What’s the Benefit? campaign will develop must look at the whole country.

If you’ve got any bright ideas for fairer reforms to housing benefit which will protect tenants across the country, email them to editorial@insidehousing.co.uk or post them in the comments below. And make sure that you sign our petition expressing concerns about the changes.