24 May 2011

Letter: Coalition own-goal in disability cuts

Posted in: Housing benefits

This letter was printed in The Guardian on 18 May 2011.

Thousands of disabled people could be priced out of their homes under government plans to reduce the housing benefit payable to people in council and housing association homes (Disabled marchers turn out in thousands for benefits protest, 12 May). The government’s own assessment reveals that 450,000 people with disabilities are set to undergo a cut averaging £676 per year. Many have received intensive support from local authorities to find homes that meet their needs, homes which in many cases will no longer be affordable under the new restrictive size criteria.

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The resulting upheaval will not only have a profound emotional impact on those leaving their homes, but may also cost the taxpayer more as a result. Research from the National Housing Federation estimates that 108,000 of those due to be penalised have had their homes adapted to allow them to live with some degree of independence.

If disabled people are forced out of their homes they will need to have their new property adapted in the same way – often at the taxpayers’ expense – and the bill is likely to run into millions of pounds. This punitive measure will hit vulnerable tenants and leave the taxpayer to pick up the tab. We are calling on the government to reconsider the proposed penalty and look again at what the true costs of pushing ahead with it would be.

David Orr
Chief executive, National Housing Federation

Mark Baker
Co-chair, Disability Benefits Consortium