Memorandum submitted by Zacchaeus 2000
Trust
INTRODUCTION
1. The Zacchaeus 2000 Trust (Z2K) works
with the most vulnerable citizens when they have rent and council
tax arrears, threats of eviction and the bailiffs, or are struggling
with overpayments of tax credits and benefits. We only work "below
the radar" while normally passing mortgage and credit card
debts to other advisers. We employ three full time lawyers, an
administrator and have 32 volunteers who act as McKenzie Friends
helping vulnerable debtors to engage with the courts and with
the authorities delivering welfare. At any one time we are handling
about 70 cases, which are referred to us by MPs, GPs in Tottenham,
other NGOs and satisfied clients. Both the number of cases and
the volunteers are growing in number. The trust was founded in
the early 1990s and registered as a charity in 1997.
2. Over the years we have noted that the Department
of Health will not consider the consequences of poverty incomes
for the health service, the Department of Work and Pensions will
not consider the consequences for the health service of poverty
incomes. Department of Education suffers the consequences of poverty
related ill health, particularly of women of child bearing age,
in the behaviour and discipline of many children in schools. The
toxic connection between poverty, debt, ill health and educational
underachievement falls into a black hole between government departments.
3. Poverty level welfare will be cut by slowing
the increase in the levels of unemployment benefits using the
less generous Consumer Price Index rather than Index of Retail
Prices, a difference of about 2%, child benefit will be frozen,
and housing benefit will be capped, the Health in Pregnancy and
the Sure Start Maternity Grants are to be abolished; the expensive
consequences of cutting poverty level incomes in ill health and
educational underachievement have been ignored.
4. We submit that the behaviour and discipline
of children in schools is worsened by circumstances over which
parents have little or no control. We ask the Education Committee
to take into account:
(a) the effect of poverty coupled with debt on
the mental health of parents and children;
(b) of poor maternal nutrition before and during
pregnancy and its effect on the cognitive development of their
offspring;
(c) the consequences of overcrowded housing;
(d) the potential damage to education of the
housing benefit caps; and
(e) the disruption of children's education by
insecure tenancies.
This is a shortened version of our submission
to the Cabinet Committee on Public Health and The DWP consultation
"21st Century Welfare", entitled Public Health and
Welfare Reform.
5. The King's Fund Estimates that the total
cost to the economy for mental illnesses is £77 billion a
year (announced by Dr Jo Nurse, Head of Mental Health Services
at the NHS). Unless both the unemployed and the working poor receive
the minimum incomes needed for healthy living these costs will
continue to increase for the tax payers regardless of the system
which delivers welfare.
6. We have selected items from the Joseph
Rowntree Foundation minimum income standards (MIS) published in
July at April 2010 prices which exclude rent, council tax, child
care and social and cultural participation. The food budget is
based in the science of nutrition, tested for consumer acceptability
and priced in a supermarket. All items in the budget are there
because members of the public think they ought to be in a minimum
income standard.
Table 1
COUPLE WITH TWO CHILDREN
Incomes from which rent arrears will be enforced
when HB is capped
| JSA | 235.29
|
| Less MIS | |
| Food | -107.13 |
| Clothing | -29.58 |
| Water | -5.70 |
| Fuel | -20.09 |
| Household goods | -18.96 |
| Household services | -9.81 |
| Personal goods and services | -29.20
|
| Travel costs | -38.38 |
| JSA Shortfall | -23.56
|
7. Women of child bearing age, and their offspring are
the people who suffer the consequences of poverty level incomes.
7.5 million adults received incomes below the poverty threshold
measured against 60% of the median income. It is many more than
7.5 million measured against an estimate of the weekly costs of
human need, and the repayment of inevitable debts is taken into
account. We highlight the consequences of the housing benefit
cap because it will increase costs in health, education and the
economy at large due to the well established relationship between
debt and mental illness
8. It should be noted that these people will not have
a holiday; the costs of any kind of social life are not included
above although they are included in the JRF minimum income standard
at £42 a week for an individual and £104 a week for
the family because the public thinks they should be. They will
certainly be paying off debts. Sometimes the level of debts is
so bad due to the complexities of welfare delivery that people
are literally unable to buy food. Z2K has a small fund to provide
them with temporary support beyond the scope of statutory welfare.
Food prices are increasing while benefits are being cut.
CASE HISTORY
The Y family was homeless, in the sense of having no settled
accommodation for 2.5 years. They applied to Westminster for help
with their homelessness in May 2009 and eventually were able to
move into appropriate accommodation in April 2010 because of the
help in arranging a deposit provided by Hackney SS. Westminster
provided no help whatsoever despite there being 4 relevant children
to whom Westminster owed a duty under the Children Act. The family
members have suffered appalling stress through living in overcrowded
accommodation and then, when in temporary accommodation being
under continuous threat of imminent eviction. Mr Y suffers from
psoriasis, a condition aggravated by stress and Mrs Y has problems
with her heart, these medical conditions were made known to Westminster
who took no notice. Without the intervention of Z2K this family
would have been literally on the streets. Their situation remains
precarious because they cannot really afford the only accommodation
they could find. The rent is £1800 p.m. and the Local Housing
Allowance for 4 bedrooms in that area is £1495, leaving them
having to pay £305 pm above their housing benefit and they
are very worried about getting into arrears again as Mr Y is on
a very low income".
9. A longitudinal survey of new public housing tenants
in Brisbane, (Kahn and Phibbs 2005) about 50% of parents reported
improved educational performance and motivation of their children
after their housing situation had stabilised, and only 10% reported
a decrease in performance or motivation. The impact of mobility
is a significant issue in this regard. It showed clearly that
when families moved from insecure private rented accommodation
to more secure public rented homes there was a significant improvement
in children's progress at school and in their behaviour. It is
now proposed that council housing in the UK should become insecure
in order to move other tenants in from insecure temporary private
accommodation; that way all children in the UK needing council
housing will have thwarted education and worse behaviour.
10. The housing benefit caps will result in rent being
paid out of poverty income, both in and out of work, which cannot
be reduced without further damaging the health and wellbeing of
tenants and the education of their children. Rent arrears and
evictions, and the stress and depression that goes with them,
are inevitable, for the whole family. During the recent debate
about cancelling free milk the issue was not whether or not all
families should be given free milk but whether milk, along with
other essential nutrition and necessities, can be bought by the
families required to survive on statutory minimum incomes in or
out of work.
11. Steve Webb MP, said in a Child Poverty Bill debate
on minimum income standards about the total inadequacy of adult
unemployment benefits, and the effect on children of the consequent
poor maternal nutrition before and during pregnancy:
"When we heard evidence, it was pointed out that a young
woman under 25 is allocated £50.95 a week (Now £51.85—PN)
to live on, but evidence suggests that £43 (Now £44.34—PN)
a week is needed for food for a decent, healthy living standard.
Fuel and other bills cannot be paid from the remaining £7-odd,
so young women in that age group who are on benefit are, by definition,
eating less than is healthy for them. If they then become pregnant,
they will at that time have been eating unhealthily. Budget standards
and minimum income standards would enable us to consider what
such young women need for a decent standard of living, and to
make that the benchmark. Fiscal considerations would determine
whether we hit the benchmark, but not knowing what the benchmark
is unacceptable and inexcusable." Hansard clmn 363 3 November
2009.
12. Professor Michael Crawford, contributing to this
consultation, has written to us:
"The brain evolved in the sea 500-600 million years ago
using specific marine omega 3 fatty acids for its structures and
function. It still uses the same today. It is difficult to obtain
from land resources other than in poultry, eggs and small animals.
Intensive rearing of poultry with inadequate feeding means that
today it is no longer a good source.
Over 14,000 pregnancies were recruited in the Avon region.
Detailed information about education, incomes, housing, etc etc
and nutrition was collected. Eight years after birth, the children
were studied. Controlling for some 28 confounding factors revealed
that Verbal IQ, Fine motor function, Prosocial Score and Social
Development scores were strongly correlated with the maternal
sea food consumption in pregnancy. That is the children born to
the mothers who ate the least amount or none were those with the
worst behavioural outcomes,
The rise in brain disorders and mental ill health is also
reckoned by Capt Dr Joseph Hibbeln at the National Institutes
of Health USA, to be mostly amongst children. This was predicted
in 1972 by the UK Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition
to happen unless attention was given to this matter.
Nothing has been done to educate children in the schools about
a healthy diet, the importance of sea food and how to cook it
nor about ensuring women of child bearing age have enough income
to buy a healthy diet.
13. The first recommendation of Professor Michael Marmot,
in his review of health inequalities was;
Support families to achieve progressive improvements in early
child development, including: Giving priority to pre—and
post-natal interventions that reduce adverse outcomes of pregnancy
and infancy.
And the fourth group of policy recommendations were.
(a) Develop and implement standards for minimum income
for healthy living.
(b) Remove "cliff edges" for those moving
in and out of work and improve flexibility of employment.
(c) Review and implement systems of taxation, benefits,
pensions and tax credits to provide a minimum income for healthy
living standards and pathways for moving upwards.
14. Professor Peter Ambrose, Visiting Professor of Housing
Studies at the University of Brighton, writes to us as follows:
"Circle Anglia recently calculated the cost to the economy
in terms of labour immobility deriving from lack of affordable
housing as £542 million per year. In addition there are serious
consequences for health and wellbeing outcomes. When housing costs
take too much a share of household incomes the then people either
depend on housing benefit—which costs the country £21
billion per year and complicates the transition into work—or
suffer reduced expenditure on key items to protect health such
as adequate nutrition, recreational activity, community participation
and indoor warmth.
Limiting the housing benefit will increase debt, and consequent
mental illness which is exacerbated when rent arrears, and other
debts, are enforced against poverty incomes. It is particularly
important to note the connection which has been made between debt
and mental illness.
15. The Government Office for Science stated in its report
"Mental Capital and Wellbeing; Making the Most of ourselves
in the 21st century" Pollard 2008:
"There is a strong case for Government to work with financial
organisations and utility companies to break the cycle between
debt and mental illness. Recent research has indicated that debt
is a much stronger risk factor for mental disorder than low income.
A range of possible interventions are suggested: beginning with
better training for teenagers in managing finance; greater awareness
of the link between mental health and debt by banks and financial
institutions; and measures by utility companies to handle arrears
better."
16. Based on the Government's own figures, the National
Housing Federation estimates that cuts to housing benefit will
leave around 936,000 people at risk of being driven into debt,
falling into arrears or losing their home, with a high proportion
at risk of ending up homeless. On average, people will lose out
on £624 a year. The following letter was published by the
Times on 30 August 2010.
17. The Times Letters 30 August 2010.
Bad housing policies in the past 30 years have led to
an unjust system of benefits and a greater burden on the taxpayer
Sir, The Institute of Fiscal Studies rightly decides that
welfare cuts are regressive, (report, 25 Aug, and letter,
27 Aug) but the Government is concerned about the £21
billion annual cost of housing benefit to the taxpayer.
The financial deregulations of the early 1980s allowed house
purchase lending to spiral out of control, driving house prices
to unprecedented levels, and with them rents, which reflect house
prices and consequentially the annual cost of housing benefit.
Simultaneously, the Housing Act 1988 allowed landlords to charge
a market rent, allowing rents to spiral after 15 January 1989.
This removed rent controls from the Rent Act 1977 scheme, again
increasing housing benefit and the cost to the taxpayer.
None of this is the responsibility of housing benefit claimants,
but they are being punished for the errors of successive governments
by the requirement to pay the balance of rents out of means-tested
wages or unemployment benefits, or be threatened with eviction.
The Local Housing Allowance began this policy of ignoring the
means test when paying housing benefit; the cap continues it.
These are the deeply unjust and regressive consequences of
bad housing policies introduced by the 1979 government, allowed
to continue by the 1997 government and then blamed on the most
vulnerable members of society.
Peter Ambrose
Professor in Housing and Health, University of Brighton
Rev Paul Nicolson
Chairman, Zacchaeus 2000 Trust
18. We submit that the combination of poverty level incomes
and rent arrears strengthens the risk factor for mental disorder
and worsens the cycle between debt and mental illness; reducing
such incomes with rent arrears due to the caps on housing benefit
piles risks on risks. In our experience many claimants are already
suffering the draconian enforcement of rent and council tax arrears
by the local authorities and bailiffs and from consequent depression,
in some cases to the point of breakdown; this inevitably affects
children in a household.
19. This enlarges our concerns about debt and mental
illness in the UK of the Office for Science. They continued:
"Common mental disorders affect 16% of the population
and are affected by a wide range of issues such as employment,
housing, urbanisation, exposure to crime, and debt. When policies
are developed in areas such as these, there is a clear case for
taking more account of the implications for mental health, as
is generally the case for physical health and safety."
20. Secure tenure is necessary to promote educational
progress and good behaviour in schools, local extended families
are essential for mutual support. That will be broken by forcing
parents and grandparents out of their homes. This will erupt as
a scandal into national media when repossession notices are issued
and bailiffs begin to implement evictions.
21. Housing for large families is in even shorter supply
than housing in general. Z2K serves a lone mother with eight children.
The nine of them live in an overcrowded council house. The local
authority will not move them or build on to the current three
bed-roomed house. Their education and their health is suffering.
The only accommodation available would be private at rents over
£400 a week; rent which will exclude the family from appropriate
housing.
22. Professor Peter Ambrose, comments as follows:
"Home overcrowding is producing ever-increasing costs
in terms of calls on the NHS, Social Services, the education and
law and order systems and in human misery. Shelter data show that
overcrowding has got significantly worse over the past five years
and it continues to worsen as the shortage of genuinely affordable
rented homes gets more acute.
The 2009 London Citizens report "Housing our Future"
by Ambrose and Farrell uncovered the extent of over-crowding among
a sample of primary school children at four schools in Wandsworth
and by means of surveys and other enquiries assessed the adverse
effects on the children. These effects were judged by over 60%
of the parents to be harming their children's educational and
social progress in six different ways. Both teachers and parents
also commented on some adverse behavioural outcomes. Under-investment
in housing is producing some very regressive effects and adding
seriously to a range of public sector costs."
23. Governments' have failed to take into account the
consequential costs to the tax payer in the hospitals, the schools
and in the enforcement of debts and in the economy at large of
poverty related mental and physical ill health, educational underachievement
and crime. Unless both the unemployed and the working poor receive
the minimum incomes needed for healthy living, and secure tenures
are included in housing policies, these costs will continue to
increase for the tax payers regardless of the system which delivers
welfare.
September 2010
|
