UP to 130,000 households in the North West will lose on average £10 a week (£520 a year) as a result of changes to housing benefit announced in June’s Emergency Budget.
Cuts to the local housing allowance will hit almost everyone in private rented housing who is on the benefit.
The analysis of figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) reveals the top 10 worst hit areas in the North West are:
Liverpool
Blackpool
Manchester
Wirral
Sefton
Bolton
Wigan
Rochdale
Cheshire West & Chester
Cheshire East
Worst hit of these are almost 4,000 families in Cheshire West and Chester who face losing up to £12.60 a week.
But the biggest number of families to lose out are in Liverpool where 12,620 families will be £10.60 a week worse off as a result of the benefit changes.
North West TUC Regional Secretary Alan Manning said: “These cuts in housing benefit will hit some of our poorest and most vulnerable families, and will affect more than 130,000 households across our Region.
“On average, 130,000 families in the North West will find themselves out of pocket to the tune of £520 a year or £10 a week – but some of the poorest people in Liverpool, Blackpool, Wirral and parts of Cheshire will be hit even harder.
“The cuts have been buried in the small print of the Budget and are extremely complicated – but it is crystal clear that some of the North West’s poorest families are now paying the price for the bankers recession, while the banks themselves are returning massive profits.”
Housing Benefit changes: Top 10 worst hit areas in North West
| No. of households | Local authority area | Loss per week |
| 12,620 | Liverpool | 10.6 |
| 12,420 | Blackpool | 11.2 |
| 10,210 | Manchester | 9.6 |
| 8,350 | Wirral | 11.8 |
| 5,340 | Sefton | 8.3 |
| 4,580 | Bolton | 10.0 |
| 4,530 | Wigan | 9.2 |
| 4,150 | Rochdale | 7.4 |
| 3,960 | Cheshire W & Chester | 12.6 |
| 3,800 | Cheshire East | 9.4 |
The proposed cuts, due to come into force in April 2011, include:
- the restriction of the bedroom entitlement to four bedroom rates;
- capping the amount that can be claimed under local housing allowance (LHA) at between £250 and £400 a week (depending on property size); and
- removing a £15 a week excess payment for tenants who find a good deal on rents.
From October 2011, LHA rents will also be calculated on the 30th percentile of private sector rents rather than the median.
Number of households losing Housing Benefit (by region or nation)
| Region or nation | No. of households | Loss per week | Loss per year |
| London | 159,370 | £22 | £1,144 |
| South East | 123,000 | £12 | £624 |
| East Midlands | 58,680 | £10 | £520 |
| East of England | 70,970 | £10 | £520 |
| North West | 130,900 | £10 | £520 |
| Scotland | 49,730 | £10 | £520 |
| South West | 83,180 | £10 | £520 |
| West Midlands | 80,140 | £10 | £520 |
| North East | 45,160 | £9 | £468 |
| Wales | 48,530 | £9 | £468 |
| Yorks and Humber | 87,310 | £9 | £468 |
| National | 936,960 | £12 | £624 |
This analysis is based on the recently published Government document Impacts of Housing Benefit proposals: Changes to the Local Housing Allowance to be introduced in 2011-12, available to download from the DWP website: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/impacts-of-hb-proposals.pdf
This analysis considers the number of claimants in receipt of HB in March 2010 as its base. The analysis only includes some of the changes that were announced by the Chancellor in the June Budget. These are: the restriction of the bedroom entitlement to the four bedroom rates, from April 2011; the capping of HA rates for the shared room, one bedroom, two bedroom, three bedroom and four bedroom rates at £250, £250, £290, £340 and £400 per week respectively, from April 2011; setting LHA rates at the 30th percentile of private rented sector rents, from October 2011; and removal of the £15 excess, from April 2011.
The Treasury analysis of the child poverty impacts of the June Budget only includes two-thirds of the benefit and tax credit changes that the Budget outlined, and does not consider the distributional impact of service cuts. Benefit and tax credit changes that are excluded from the Budget’s analysis include HB cuts, cuts in disability living allowance (DLA), cuts to grants for mothers (the Sure Start maternity grant and the health in pregnancy grant) and the requirement that lone parents with children aged five or over start to claim JSA.
The full list of changes included in the Budget analysis is available to download here: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/junebudget_data_sources.pdf
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'Proud to serve the public’ is a North West TUC campaign to protect and promote public services in our Region. We believe public services are a vital part of the North West economy. They create jobs, stimulate growth and... 
This from today’s Guardian
The threat of a double-dip recession intensified today after it emerged that Britain’s powerhouse services sector saw its growth stall last month, jeopardising hopes of a sustained recovery.
As the Bank of England prepared to announce its latest decision on interest rates tomorrow, a survey of the sector that makes up the bulk of Britain’s economic output showed that its growth slipped to its slowest since it emerged from recession a year ago.
Many of the companies surveyed said cancelled public-sector contracts were beginning to hurt their businesses, forcing them to cut jobs and dealing a blow to chancellor George Osborne’s hopes of reviving the private sector by reducing public spending.
The gloom was compounded by warnings from leading retailers that consumer spending is cooling off after a strong start to the year amid uncertainty about the economic outlook.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/aug/04/double-dip-recession-fears-economy?&
This is the most disgusting thing I have ever read. I cant believe they are doing this to some of the poorest people. It makes my blood boil – but what can we do to make our voices heard? Its time we said no to this!