After a period of not posting, I will restart my blog. I have had a very eventful year, being Chairman of the Town Council, this took far too much of my time, if I had catalogued the events, I am sure people would be surprised by those events, if published.
Last week I attended the CAB management committee, again the mounting debt burden on families is very evident, the CAB are dealing with £18million in Mendip.
Housing issues are very high on the Bureau workload, with rent arrears and tenancy issues and mortgage problems.
There is a lack of affordable rented properties for people. The government housing policy will start to hurt. The effective ending of Social Housing, 80% of Market rents and 12 month tenancies will make social housing less affordable and less secure, couple this with insecure employment and lower benefits, the government are assaulting low paid workers.
The single room housing benefit for under 35 year olds will badly effect younger people, there are few houses for multiple occupancy in the Mendip District, so effectively it will mean a choice between homelessness and indebtedness for under 35 year olds on housing benefit.
The problem being caused by legal aid being withdrawn from welfare, housing and employment issues will leave CABs, if the local advisers need to refer the issues to a solicitor this will be a very real challenge, instead of people accessing professional legal support, now they will have a telephone number.
Effectively ending justice for all, without the most vulnerable people having access to legal support, changes the balance from the powerless to the powerful, this seems to be story of this government, supports the powerful and hurts the vulnerable.
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