Young people under 22 will no longer receive Housing benefit, homeless charities are horrified and the Government produced an impact report but won’t publish it, presumably because thousands of young people will be at risk of becoming homeless.
What justification for this can there be when extra money is found to set up unnecessary free schools to further Tory ideology and curry votes with core voters in the run up to the budget?
This short-term approach will lead to higher costs in the long term as councils will have to find homes for young people, who have nowhere else to go when evicted for rent arrears, whilst the numbers of homeless are already disgracefully high for the 6th most wealthy country in the world.
This ought to be classed as age discrimination. I hope Labour follow this up with a Freedom of Information request on the Impact report carried out.
Austerity is now going too far and becoming counter-productive, cf. cuts to councils have led to cuts in social care which has had a knock on effect on the NHS.
I am concerned that TV and radio media seem to have ignored this issue, whilst continually flagging up the business rates issue (also valid but with a strong body of influential voices behind it). Why does the media not help housing charities to blare out the injustice and suspect wisdom of such a policy?
Yet another shameful policy where the most vulnerable suffer. Young people are being woefully neglected, even victimised, under this government.
Key Links
- http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/tories-accused-cover-up-refusing-9982319
- https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/mar/06/housing-benefit-cuts-young-people-homelessness-landlords
- Does the Tory Government hate young people that much?
