Council offers key advice over Housing Benefit changes

 

Cheshire East Council is pulling out the stops to help advise people affected by the Government’s welfare reforms.

As a result of changes due to come into effect in the New Year, letters are now being sent to all tenants under 35 – inviting them to an interview to discuss how they are affected by new restrictions on eligible rent for Housing Benefit for shared accommodation.

About 300 customers will be affected across Cheshire East and individual benefit payments could decrease by as much as £50 a week.

Those affected are being invited to make an appointment to review their cases and discuss options with an officer from the Council’s housing benefits section and housing department. The reforms come into effect from January 1, 2012.

Councillor David Brown, Cabinet member with responsibility for performance and capacity, said: “Our intention is to ensure that everyone gets a fair result from the changes being introduced.

“Housing Benefit expenditure, nationally, has ballooned in the past 10 years, from £11 billion in 1999/2000 to £20bn in 2009/10, in cash terms.

“Within this total, expenditure on working age recipients has increased from £7bn to over £14bn. Without reform, total expenditure is forecast to reach £25bn by 2015/16, a further rise of 24 per cent. This is unsustainable in any economic climate – but the need to tackle the record deficit makes reform even more pressing.

“The new reforms will provide a fairer and more sustainable Housing Benefit scheme by taking steps to ensure that people on benefit are not living in accommodation that would be out of the reach of most people in work – thus creating a fairer system for low-income working families and for the taxpayer.

“The reforms will help ensure that resources are focused towards those most in need and will also begin to address poor incentives to work inherent in the current system

“The interviews are designed to best guide customers in their particular circumstances and ensure they get the most appropriate advice. We want to ensure that everyone affected knows what their options are and what help is available to them. Our intention is to ensure that everyone affected gets the benefits to which they are entitled.”

The advice interviews will be held at council offices in Crewe, Macclesfield and Sandbach over a period of about three weeks, starting from November 7.

Anyone who receives the letter should ring the Benefits section on 0300 1235013.