Posted on 04/24/2012 7:44:55 PM PDT by Olog-hai
The government has defended its housing benefit cap after it emerged London's Newham council was trying to find homes for some families 160 miles away.
The council has been accused of "social cleansing", but its mayor said it was trying to find the best solution.
But Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said there were "thousands of houses" within five miles of Newham that fell within the cap. Westminster council is also understood to be considering a similar proposal.
As part of its welfare reforms, the government has introduced weekly caps on housing benefit of between £250 for a one-bedroom flat and £400 for a four-bedroom property. …
Labour-controlled Newham Council runs one of London's poorest boroughs in the east of the city—which is home to much of the new 500-acre Olympic Park. …
Newham Council is offering to pay Brighter Futures 90% of the local housing allowance plus £60 per week. But Brighter Futures chief executive officer Gill Brown says she will not agree to the request: "I think there is a real issue of social cleansing going on. We are very anxious about this letter, which we believe signals the start of a movement which could see thousands of needy people dumped in Stoke with no proper plan for their support or their welfare."
She said previous efforts to relocate needy people had put strain on local public services and led to "the collapse of already vulnerable neighborhoods and the rise of divisive right-wing extremism". …
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
If you build a pig pen, pigs will come... throw in a dead rat and watch the fight!
That is an insane amount of money to hand out for housing. If that was the ONLY form of welfare it’d be enough.
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