Tag: advice

Growing concerns over welfare reforms

The Church, charities and political opponents have spoken out over the imminent introduction the latest round of welfare reforms. With the controversial new ‘bedroom tax’ due to be introduced by the Westminster government in just over a fortnight, critics have united to ask the Tory/Lib Dem coalition to think again.

Justin Welby

In an open letter to Work and Pensions Minister Iain Duncan Smith, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby (pictured above) and 43 Church of England bishops wrote on open letter to Work and Pensions Minister Iain Duncan Smith last week, expressing concern that welfare reforms could push as many as 200,000 children into poverty. The churchmen said that benefits caps will hit the most vulnerable people in society and ‘a civilised society has a duty to support the most vulnerable’.

In Scotland, Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called for the bedroom tax to be scrapped earlier this week, when announcing that extra advice and support will help those who will lose out under UK Government housing benefit cuts like the bedroom tax.

The Scottish Government is providing an extra £2.5 million to social landlords to ensure there is advice on hand for people who will lose housing benefit due to the under occupancy measures and other housing benefit changes being introduced by Westminster.

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Ms Sturgeon said: “I have made the Scottish Government’s firm opposition to the bedroom tax absolutely clear. It is a policy that will penalise some of the most vulnerable people in our society and I put the case for it to be scrapped in the strongest terms to the Deputy Prime Minister when we met in London this week – sadly there appears to be indifference to this argument at Westminster, despite strong opposition from across Scotland.

“We are determined to do everything that we reasonably can to help and as part of these efforts we are making available an extra £2.5 million to social landlords to help them ensure that people affected by housing benefit changes have the advice and support they need. This is on top of the £5.4 million we have already allocated to help those affected by benefit reforms, which will go to organisations such as Citizens Advice.

“This extra support will assist social landlords in their efforts to engage directly with affected tenants and seek to identify ways in which they can deal with the impact of the changes. We are continuing to consider all reasonable steps that we can take to mitigate welfare cuts, including the bedroom tax. However, these unjust policies show why we need the powers of independence to protect vulnerable people rather than simply trying to cushion the blows in Scotland. It would be far better to control benefits and welfare so unfair policies like the bedroom tax are not even considered, let alone implemented.”

Meanwhile North and Leith MP Mark Lazarowicz has produced figures showing that over 5200 people living in Edinburgh’s social rented sector – including nearly 20% of council tenants – will be hit by the ‘bedroom tax’, as they are considered by the government to be living in a home larger than they need or ’under-occupying’, so their housing benefit will be cut to reflect that.

According to the latest figures from Edinburgh City Council, 5,263 Council or social landlord tenants are currently live in a bigger home than the government says they need.

4,529 live in a home with one bedroom more than they are said to need and another 734 tenants live in a home with 2 or more bedrooms more than the government says they should have.

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Nearly one-fifth or 3,851 of the 20,331 Council tenants in the City are likely to be affected – but there are only 27 one-bedroom flats available to rent, either in Council-or housing association property.

In a statement earlier this week, Mr Lazarowicz said: “These figures show just how severe the impact is likely to be in Edinburgh. There is a real danger that people who see their housing benefit cut will fall into either arrears or debt, and in extreme cases may even become homeless. The result of the ‘bedroom tax’ may be that people go from ‘under-occupancy’ to overcrowding, especially if they have to be rehoused in bed and breakfast accommodation.

“It will cause tremendous problems for local councils who will struggle to provide alternative accommodation and to cope with the effect on their finances if tenants fall into arrears or have to be rehoused in more expensive short term accommodation.
“It highlights the desperate shortage of affordable housing both here in Edinburgh and across the rest of the UK but the Government seems to have turned its back on the problem and the people who will be affected by this.”

The Department for Work and Pensions estimates that it will affect 80,000 social housing tenants in Scotland overall or 33% of the total number of housing benefit claimants in the social rented sector in Scotland who will lose on average £12 a week.

There aren’t enough smaller properties available to meet the demand if people have to move and so Citizens Advice Scotland and Shelter Scotland have both highlighted the danger that some people could end up homeless.

The Government has made some late concessions – armed forces personnel and foster carers have now been exempted – but other than that it’s full steam ahead.

Responding to concerns over the welfare changes this week Mr Duncan Smith told MPs the benefits system was “out of control” and simply “giving more and more money” would not help.

Speaking during Work and Pensions Questions in the House of Commons, Mr Duncan Smith said: “”I always listen to everybody who gives me advice. I don’t necessarily follow it. I have no issue with the Church of England, with the bishops, for them to say whatever they believe. It’s quite right and proper. They should try and argue with us and put pressure on us over a number of issues. I simply say that I don’t agree that the way to get children out of poverty is to simply keep transferring more and more money to keep them out of work”.

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He went on: “The reality is what we’re having to do is reform a system that became completely out of control under the last government, get people back in work, for being in work is how you get your children out of poverty. The reality is that we are doing the right thing in bringing in the benefit cap. For the first time ever, people on low and average earnings will realise at last that those on benefits will not be able to be paid more in taxes than they themselves earn.”

The city council’s North Neighbourhood Team is now offering a drop-in service on Wednesdays between 10am-1pm to provide advice and support on a range of services.  Officers from the Rents, Choice, Revenue & Benefits Teams and Neighbourhood Support Service, along with Letfirst and Granton Information Centre staff, will be available.

NADI

Healthy advice from GIC

Granton Information Centre (GIC) has extended their service at Muirhouse Medical Group. GIC’s Michelle Lee can now be found at the Muirhouse Avenue centre on Mondays and Tuesdays from 2 – 4pm.

 GIC have provided an advice service in local GP surgeries for many years, and have had a presence in the Muirhouse surgery for almost two years. The extra hours at Muirhouse became possible when the Muirhouse practice was extended, and it’s a service that patients registered at Muirhouse are using in increasing numbers.

“There’s as much of a demand for the service as there has ever been – perhaps even more so”, said Michelle, who has been with GIC for eight years. “The advice service has been getting particularly busy on Tuesdays, and having the additional day here makes a great difference.”

Muirhouse Medical Centre’s Gillian Anderson said: “Michelle is very much a part of our team – she’s been added to our appointment systems and participates in our six-weekly staff team meetings. It’s great to have Michelle here in the practice to give advice – updating staff on changes to legislation and other issues that may affect GPs – to the comprehensive service she provides to the local people who are registered at this practice. There are a lot of questions on benefits and entitlements that we couldn’t give the answers to, so it’s very useful having Michelle here to explain complicated things in a way we can all understand.”

One patient who particularly appreciates GIC’s GP surgery service is Alan, who lives in Muirhouse. Alan, who suffers from depression, turned to Michelle for help when his mother – who was also his carer – suddenly died last Christmas.

“I didn’t have a clue what to do – my mum had always done everything and I really didn’t know where to turn or where to start. It took me a long time to get over the shock of losing my mum and things sort of drifted – I got into a mess and I didn’t have a clue how to sort things out. It affected my health, which was not that great anyway, and I was so lucky that my GP was able to offer GIC’s advice service, saying we’d be able to get things sorted.” At this point I had been refused Employment & Support Allowance due to failing a Work Capability assessment; I had a funeral to organise and to pay for and had accruing council tax arrears and I had no money coming in.”

He went on: “When I spoke to Michelle it was a weight off my mind – it was amazing just how much better I felt just being able to share things with somebody, because I really didn’t have anyone else to help me, no-one else to turn to. I’m not exaggerating when I say that Michelle was my lifeline – she has supported me all the way through. Things were a mess – far too complicated for me – but with Michelle’s help things are looking up now – it’s a whole lot brighter, when just a wee while ago everything seemed hopeless.”

Michelle said: “Alan suffers from severe depression, and when he found himself alone he found it impossible to cope with forms, bills and paperwork. He found himself with an outstanding funeral bill, no money coming in because his benefits had been stopped and there were various other complications. It was a set of circumstances that anyone would have found daunting – never mind someone who had recently lost their mother. Fortunately, we have been able to systematically deal with all of the issues Alan faced, and things that once seemed insurmountable have been resolved. It is not an easy process, but we’ve got there. Alan has started to get his life in order, and he’s feeling better and more positive as a result.”

Michelle explained to Alan that she would assist with appealing the Employment & Support Allowance decision and would also assist with making an application to British Gas Energy Trust for help with the outstanding balance for the funeral. Michelle also identified a possible entitlement to Disability Living Allowance.

The Employment & Support Allowance decision was overturned at the appeal stage and Alan was placed in the support group. His weekly income increased from absolutely nothing to £105.05 a week, and he also received an additional backdated payment of £681.00.

The British Gas Energy Trust application was also successful and Alan was awarded £1960.80 to clear the outstanding balance of his mother’s funeral costs.

The initial application for Disability Living Allowance was unsuccessful, but GIC successfully appealed the decision and this increased Alan’s weekly income by another £41.10 – in total Alan’s annual household income has increased by £7,599.80!

Alan’s life has been turned around. “I’m starting to get out and about a bit more, which is hard to believe,” he said. “I can honestly say that, without this service, I really don’t think I would have been here to tell you this story. Seriously, it was that bad but things are getting better. I can never thank Michelle enough for everything she’s done for me and I count myself so lucky that my GP told me about the advice service.”

Granton Information Centre’s GP Surgery service is also available at Crewe Medical Centre on Tuesday mornings between 10.00am and 1pm.