We believe that government plans to cut the £21 billion housing benefit bill risk driving thousands of vulnerable people from their homes and into poverty. The What’s the Benefit campaign is about finding a fairer way of getting the bill down.
What is the government planning?
- Limits of £250 for a one-bed property and £400 for four or more bedrooms.
- Local housing allowance rates set using the bottom 30 per cent of rents rather than the median from October 2011. It will be linked to the consumer price index, rather than the retail price index. There are 1 million LHA claimants in the UK.
- Cutting housing benefit by 10 per cent for claimants on jobseekers allowance for more than a year.
Support the campaign
You can support the campaign by:
- Signing our online petition.
- To join the list of our backers send us an email with a picture and a line explaining why you support the campaign.
- Or express your support through Twitter or Facebook. Include the phrase 'housing benefit' in your tweets so we can find your responses and display them below.
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OK computer?
The government has a bad reputation when it comes to implementing new IT systems. So can its plans to deliver the universal credit online work or are critics right to be concerned? Carl Brown investigates
‘The housing benefit bill does need to be brought under control – and there are abuses here and there. But the only humane and cost-efficient way to reduce spending on housing benefit is to allow more houses to be built so that housing becomes cheaper.’ Tim Leunig, academic at the London School of Economics
‘I absolutely support the campaign. The government needs to consider the impact of these changes: we cannot have a situation where people are forced out of the city of London.’ Glenda Jackson, Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn
'Millions now face an even
bigger challenge in keeping a roof over their heads.'
Kay Boycott, director of policy, Shelter