the housing reforms of the uk

Ok you may not be aware of this given not all of you reside in the uk but there is an austerity drive being presented as reforms by our incumbent coalition government.

In addition to the unjust reforms of tax credits which hurts those in work tremendously as well as cuts to housing benefits and council tax benefits ; as if to add insult to injury the government has decided to proceed with reforms making life harder for britains poorest and most vulnerable (http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/housing_benefit_and_local_housing_allowance/changes_to_local_housing_allowance/housing_benefit_changes_2013).

Benefits will be adjusted at 1 percent , which is well below the rate of inflation meaning those on the lowest incomes will struggle.

A number of people , a proportion of whom have severe disabilities and medical condition are being deprived of disability living allowance and other disability benefits nessecary to living a full and productive life (http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/forthcomingchanges.htm#april2013).

Indeed many of the coalitions so called reforms are like to be counterproductive making work less profitable, relying on tighter means testing and impoverishing the most vulnerable.

As if to rub salt in the wounds they are now proposing a so called bedroom tax meaning those on housing benefit including foster carers, the disabled, parents of disabled children and those on low income face either moving to smaller premises which may not be suitable to their needs or rise in their rent bills which many cannot afford.

Now I realise that this may be part of the every little helps mentality of the governments debt reduction programme, however the deficet remains high, despite supposedly the lowest level of unemployment in years many need income supplementation as many have resorted to part time work or casual work that cannot sustain a family or have taken lower wages or reduced hours to preserve their livelihoods(http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/jan/23/unemployment-rate-fell).

Indeed many of the unemployed are masked by the Work Programme which has been an abject failure (http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/public-accounts-committee/news/work-programme/). Furthermore many have been subject to increased sanctioning due to the DWPs drive to decrease the claimant count.

So what we have is a government making itself poorer ;by the prospect of expensive appeals, to make others poorer, for it to decrease spending only for either councils or charities to pick up the slack, for it to declare unemployment is going down at a time when we have had a double dip and risk a third or triple dip recession with the prospect of booming unemployment on the horizon(http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/03/01/uk-britain-economy-idUKBRE9200DY20130301).

We what have is Britain that is getting hit by inflation and austerity, a Britain that is getting tougher and poorer, a Britain that is at risk of sustained low growth and potential mass unemployment if the economy goes south and a class of people being hit at both ends, to quote a Margaret Thatcher election campaign

"Britain isnt working".