Housing Benefit cuts

Campaign against proposed cuts to Housing Benefit impacting refugees

In its Emergency Budget on 22 June 2010, the coalition Government announced major changes to Housing Benefit. We are concerned that these changes will have a detrimental affect on refugees.

The measures will lead to more poverty amongst refugees and will reduce their opportunities for accessing suitable housing, employment, education and to becoming active members of Scottish society.

The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) is campaigning against the proposed changes by asking organisations to write to MPs, urging them to oppose the changes.

Take action

If you are part of an organisation which may like to join this campaign, you can ask them to download and send the sample letter which is on the Scottish Federation of Housing Association (SFHA) website.

Find out more on the SFHA website

How will these cuts affect refugees?

We have set out some of the proposed changes below, along with how they will specifically affect refugees. Some of these measures are likely to be implemented from April 2011. Others will need primary legislation and may come into force in April 2013.

Housing Benefit awards will be reduced to 90 per cent of the initial award after 12 months for claimants receiving Jobseeker’s Allowance.

If this measure becomes applicable to people in homeless accommodation, refugees and other residents in temporary accommodation may be asked to pay up to £25 a week towards their rent. This means that a single person would be left with only £40 a week to pay for bills, food, transport, clothing and other necessities.

For the first time, a penalty will be imposed on people who have actively sought employment but have failed to secure a job. It is especially worrying that this would happen in the middle of a recession and at a time of high unemployment.

Refugees experience difficulties in securing employment and are often unemployed for more than 12 months. Only 21% of refugees who received support from our Refugee Integration and Employment Service (RIES) since 2009 have managed to secure employment within a year of receiving their status. Refugees need time to gain UK qualifications or improve their language skills. The lack of UK work experience, the non-recognition of qualifications obtained overseas and racial prejudice by employers add to the difficulty of finding employment.  

Refugees often experience homelessness at the point of being granted leave to remain. They are then vulnerable to paying an average of £250 per week for hostel accommodation or a temporary flat. In 2010, 38 per cent of the people who were assisted by our Housing Team stayed in a temporary flat for more than a year.

Increasing non-dependant deductions

This measure will affect refugees whose adult sons and daughters need to remain at home because they are at college or university. It will also affect those arriving in the UK via the family reunion procedure and who therefore need support from their relatives. Non-dependant deductions have been frozen since 1999. This reflects recognition that high deductions can force non-dependants into the financial position of leaving home and moving into their own tenancy.

Reduction in the rate paid to single people

From 2012, single people under 35 will be paid a shared room rate rather than a rate for a full flat. The shared room rate is lower than all other housing benefit payments and is currently paid to claimants under 25. It is based on the amount of rent charged for a single room with shared use of the rest of a house.

From January 1 2010 to December 31  2010, 79 per cent of refugees referred to RIES were single and 75 per cent of them were under 35 years old. If this measure was to go ahead, new refugees who are looking to secure settled housing would be disproportionally disadvantaged.

Housing Benefit subsidy cuts

Housing Benefit subsidy is the amount refunded to local authorities by the Department for Work and Pensions towards the cost of some temporary accommodation. Glasgow City Council has estimated that this cut would mean a loss of income of £10 million. Cuts to housing benefits subsidy may jeopardise the ability of Local Authorities to fulfil their legal duty to provide suitable temporary accommodation and suitable support.

It is likely that refugees would not to be provided with suitable accommodation and, more importantly, their specific support needs will not be met. Projects providing support to young people and people fleeing domestic abuse may also be drastically affected by such cuts.