Without careful, compassionate planning, Universal Credit could cause May misery for hundreds and hundreds of Royal Borough residents, exacerbating Child Poverty and homelessness. Wisdom questions the Council with his concerns about Universal Credit. Part 4 of 4
May 2018 will be a happy month for a certain Royal Couple and, barring the travel and accommodation pains, a glorious time for many in Windsor.
However, May 2018 will also see the roll out in the Royal Borough of the much maligned, Conservative rationalization of benefits called Universal Credit.
A track record of misery
Universal Credit has brought near universal misery in the areas of our Country where it has already been applied forcing pushing many individuals and families into poverty, deeper into debt and, onto the streets, evicted by their landlords because of payment issues with the DWP or local authorities.
So, I am keen to ensure that preparations are being made so we can ride this storm and equip residents to face the future with hope, and maybe even enjoy the Royal Wedding unfettered.
[box]
Other blogs in this series
Click here to read part 1 of this 4 part series entitled, “Issues facing Windsor – Intro – Blog”
Click here to read part 2 of this 4 part series entitled, “Homelessness in Windsor”
Click here to read part 3 of this 4 part series entitled, “Lost bus services in Windsor?”
Click here to read part 4 of this 4 part series entitled, “Concerns about Universal Credit’s roll out in May 2018”
[/box]
Broader affects of UC: Child Poverty & Homelessness
A botched roll out of Universal Credit, or insensitive partnering with our community by our Council, could further exacerbate Child Poverty in Windsor and Maidenhead. Yes, child poverty amongst our neighbours.
Here are the Child Poverty UK stats for our Borough
- WINDSOR: 3307 children in poverty (after housing costs, Dec 2015) i.e. 15% of children in poverty (after housing costs)
- MAIDENHEAD: 2941 children in poverty (after housing costs, Dec 2015) i.e. 13.2% of children in poverty (after housing costs)
And then there is the homelessness Universal Credit and a poor Council response might catalyse – see my blog “Homelessness in Windsor”
Given these potentially serious implications, questions need to be asked and, if we don’t like the answers, our political leaders need to make changes.
Questions and answers in Council
Once again, as a lone Independent in Windsor (you can vote for more next May 2019), I asked Cllr Samantha Raynor for assurances based on what has worked and not worked up and down the Country where UC has already been pushed through. Issues like;
- Flexibility to make emergency loans of sufficient magnitude available
- Education as to what people are allowed to claim for
- Coaching and personal assistance on how to claim all the relevant allowances
- Outreach to engage all those who need help. Don’t wait, go an help them pro-actively.
- Funding for all of the above
[color-box]
Click here to read the questions and the responses in detail. [/color-box]
Sadly, few assurances were given and there was certainly no promise that “none of our residents will fall into the poverty trap because of Universal Credit’s roll out” so, no commitments from your Conservative Council to the hundreds and hundreds of Royal Borough residents who will be trapped by Universal Credit.
A right Royal event, it May not be for many.
So what next?
Time to get more clarity on what is being proposed for residents. I will push again for a report to be issued and, report back to you.
I hope you found this useful and insightful. There are a number of other issues but I will write about these shortly.
Let’s keep working together to put people first; justice and democracy for all.
Accountably yours,
Wisdom
WWRA Councillor, Wisdom Da Costa, Clewer North, Windsor
Caveat
This post is part of Cllr Wisdom Da Costa’s regular series of Blogs to inform and empower local residents; as he promised in his election leaflet
The views expressed in this article are not necessarily the views of the West Windsor Residents Association (WWRA).