For Who's Benefit?
| Date | 01 September 1989 |
| Published date | 01 September 1989 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455058903600311 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
127
For
Who’s
Benefit?
The
Government’s
steps
to
simplify
the
Benefits
system
will
create
greater
poverty
and
homelessness.
Nick
Day,
of
Devon
Probation
Service’s
Community
Development
Resource
Unit,
analyses
the
changes
and
demonstrates
how
they
clash
profoundly
with
’Tackling
Offending’
strategies
aimed
at
young
adult
offenders.
ohn
Moore,
then
Minister
for Social
Sec-
urity,
in
an-
nouncing
to
the
House
of
Commons
in
March
of
this
year
the
pro-
posed
changes
in
social
sec-
urity
regula-
tions
for
resi-
dents
of
hos-
tels
with
effect
from
9th
Oct-
ober,
said:
’
’These
measures
demonstrate
the
Gc~vernrnent’s
con-
cern
to
achieve
a
si~npler
and
more
comprehensible
social
security
system,
while
at
the
same
t~e,
pro-
tecting
hostels
and
claimants.
The
end
result
will
be
a
simpler
and
fairer
system
with
no
reduction
in
the
amount
of
money
to
hostels.’
This
statement
came
one
month
before
new
social
security
regulations
were
applied
to
claimants
living
in
board
and
lodging
accommodation.
Here
again,
the
aim
of
the
changes
were
similar:
to
move
towards
the
Government’s
stated
objective
of
a
simpler
and
more
com-
prehensible
social
security
system
which
dissuades
people
from
moving
simply
to
improve
their
benefits
-
as
opposed
to
genuinely
improving
their
housing
situation.
This
article
seeks
to
demonstrate
that
the
Government’s
desire
to
simplify
the
benefits
system
will,
in
ef-
fect,
lead
to
greater
homelessness
and
poverty,
especially
amongst
young
people.
It
will
also
discuss
some
of
the
explicit
and
implicit
assumptions
underlying
these
changes
and
go
on
to
show
how
they
will
significantly
undermine
the
effectiveness
of
the
Pro-
bation
Service’s
’Tackling
Offending’
strategies
targetted
at
young
adult
of-
fenders
and
Area
Accommodation
Strategies.
The Changes
In
essence,
unemployed
people
who
are
boarders
or
living
in
hostel
accom-
modation
will
have
their
benefit
arrangements
brought
into
line
with
the
system
already
existing
for
the
majority
of
other
claimants.
Instead
of
receiving
a
combined
allowance
far
accommodation
costs
and
personal
ex-
penditure
in
one
cheque
from
the
DSS,
unemployed
residents
will
receive
separate
payments
of
age-related
in-
come
support
from
the
DSS
to
cover
personal
expenditure,
and
housing
benefit
from
the
local
authority
to
cover
accommodation
costs.
Existing
residents
at
the
time
of
change
will
have
transitional
protection
if
their
net
income
is
reduced.
The
amount
of
housing
benefit
paid
is
the
accommodation
charge
less
any
ineligible
service
charges,
such
as
meals,
heating,
lighting,
laundry,
etc
toegther
with
water
rates
and
20%
of
the
rates.
In
addition,
a
local
authority
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