Crisis responds to poverty reduction measures in the Budget

The Chancellor has today (Wednesday 26th November) announced a number of welcome measures to reduce poverty as part of the Budget, including the removal of the two-child benefit cap.

Despite this positive focus, today’s lack of investment in housing benefit means thousands of low-income households will be unable to afford their rents and be pushed into homelessness. Crisis’ research with Zoopla shows that just 2.4% of properties listed in England are affordable on Local Housing Allowance – and just 1% in Wales.

With new research from Crisis showing that almost 300,000 households are experiencing the worst forms of homelessness in England alone, the charity is calling for the UK government to urgently reconsider the ongoing freeze on housing benefit ahead of the publication of their strategy to get us back on track to ending homelessness.

Francesca Albanese, Director of Policy and Social Change at Crisis, said: “Families will be breathing a sigh of relief to hear the Chancellor commit to scrapping the two-child benefit limit. This is hugely welcome and will help struggling parents with the rising cost of day-to-day living.

“What this Budget doesn’t do, however, is help hundreds of thousands of households across Great Britain who are homeless or at risk. The choice to keep housing benefit frozen, and wildly out-of-step with the true cost of rents, will directly lead to a rise in homelessness and pile additional pressure on councils whose combined temporary accommodation bill in England alone is nearly £3bn a year.

“Without restoring housing benefit, many low-income households will remain trapped in poverty. As they finalise their strategy to tackle homelessness, the Westminster government must urgently reconsider this decision as it flies in the face of their manifesto commitment to get the country back on track to ending homelessness.”