Sheffield Greens, concerned that Housing Benefit cuts will mean Sheffield 6,700 people can no longer afford their rent, submitted a full council meeting question this week to ask what action the council would take?

From this month, the government is capping housing benefit payments across the private rented sector. Housing spokesperson Bernard Little, who asked the question comments

“Most people in receipt of housing benefit are pensioners, disabled people or families with children. It means that people on low incomes face the choice of cutting spending on food to pay their rent or having to move out of their home.

Most cuts will be about £10 a week. The Chartered Institute of Housing estimates an extra 6,700 properties in Sheffield will become un-affordable. In addition, single people up to the age of 35 will be expected to share accommodation, there will be extra cuts for people who have managed to find cheap accommodation and for very large families.

The Green Party believes there is no need for cuts in social welfare at the national level and that it is wrong to make people on the lowest incomes bear the highest cuts. We would make a far greater effort to provide much-needed social housing.

Locally, the Green Party would make the most of the discretionary funds available to the council, invest more in enforcement of standards in the private rented sector and extend energy efficiency schemes to reduce householders’ living costs.”