WELFARE CHANGES that have already been blamed for creating debt and homelessness could strip millions from the pockets of Dundee’s poorest residents.
Council leader Ken Guild issued the warning yesterday as he predicted heartache and hardship ahead for families and communities across the city.
He believes a staggering £21 million could be cut from the benefits currently paid to citizens and fears that will plunge households into poverty.
Mr Guild was among a number of senior councillors who spoke out as the UK Government prepares to introduce the biggest change to the welfare system for more than 60 years.
The reforms start to roll out next April and many council tenants, along with those of other registered social landlords, will see a reduction in all manner of benefits.
From April, all workingage claimants will have their benefits capped at the average income of a working family, assessed at no more than £350 a week for single people and £500 a week for families.
Major changes to housing benefits are already under way, with the UK Government deciding single claimants aged under 35 should make do with shared accommodation rather than individual properties resulting in an average benefit cut of £22 a week for thousands of young adults.
Dundee could be set to bear the brunt of the reforms, with the latest unemployment statistics revealing that 6,000 residents claim jobseekers allowance.
At 6.5% of the city’s population, the rate is higher than that of Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow and its impact is exacerbated by the many low earners that rely on tax credits and employment support allowance.
The city also boasts a high number of council house tenants and residents who require assistance with their rent,
Mr Guild said: “There is no doubt that these welfare cuts will cause real hardship to families and individuals in communities throughout our city.
“People who are low-paid or unemployed are already struggling with rising costs and they now face their benefits and tax credits being cut.
“I fear that some people will not be able to cope and we will see an increase in poverty, rent arrears, homelessness and overall household debt.”
Housing convener Jimmy Black said he feared the policy changes had been thought up by those without any experience of the challenges faced by a city such as Dundee.
Angus Council has already strongly criticised the controversial legislation, which it fears will force up rent arrears and place those on benefits in a difficult position.
Residents in the region are to lose more than £250,000 a year, with hundreds of tenants forced to wave goodbye to between £2 and £20 a week.
The reforms were described as “absolute nonsense” by members of the local authority’s corporate services committee, who questioned why changes were being made to a system that works.
The UK Government believes its reforms will deliver “fairness” to those claiming benefits and to the taxpayer, however, and importantly, will protect society’s most vulnerable people.
Dundee Conservative Councillor Derek Scott told colleagues to “see sense”, claiming it was impossible for the Government to maintain the current level of benefits paid.
mmackay@thecourier.co.uk