Unite Cardiff Area Branch hosted radio journalist and benefit expert

Budgeting on Your Money Matters...with Ripon Ray

24% greater than on the eve of the financial crisis, Britons owe a total of £72.5bn on credit cards with £400m added to balances in November 2018 alone, according to the Bank of England. In such a mountainous backdrop, it's essential that regulators and the central government put financial education on top of the agenda for the well-being of communities who are struggling with money.

On Your Money Matters show, I have tackled this exact issue by interviewing Michelle Turpin Cope, Money Trainer. She personally struggled to manage her money once she resigned from her job as a nurse due to stress and depression. She had devoted her life caring for NHS patients. Once her savings ran out, she had to turn to state benefits; otherwise, would have been destitute. The luxury of spending money on a cup of coffee every day, without realising the impact this purchase would have on her finances, was really an issue for her.

Once she went on a money mentor training, she was forced to think about her spending habit. From then on her life changed forever because she was confronted with the psychology of spending. Financial planning or budgeting became the solution to her problem. This is why she has been passionate about budgeting and money management.

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Fuel Suppliers and Your Money Matters...with Ripon Ray

For a number of people, switching suppliers is not an easy task - the fear of changing can be very daunting,  not knowing where to research online, going through all the deals that are available and whether these deals are worthy of switching. 

This week I asked Angela Dietrich, a pensioner from East London, who had serious issues with her former fuel supplier, Npower, when she was thinking of switching. I asked: 'How did you manage to switch your supplier?'.

You can find her answer on Your Money Matters show! She also talked about how she was supported by local advice agencies, such as Toynbee Hall and Bromley-By-Bow Centre (BBBC), in order for her to get heard against a very big company, Npower, and to make a complaint against the company.

According to the Money Advice & Pension Service, in order to switch, you should always check Compare gas and electricity tariffs accredited by Ofgem price comparison sites.

Austerity Fuelling Housing and Homelessness Crisis

'Is there a link between shortage of housing, homelessness and the welfare reform in the UK?', asks Ripon Ray

'I made a claim for universal credit over 5 months ago. Nothing has come through yet. My landlord has just sent me a letter which shows I am in rent arrears.  Am I going to be homeless again?’

Joanna Smith, who is nine months pregnant, is living in temporary accommodation in Hackney, London. She was placed there by Westminster Council. The council could not afford to place her in accommodation within its own area.  The high cost of renting in the borough for a low income benefit claimant, such a Joanna, is beyond her means as a private tenant because housing benefit is not going to cover her rent once austerity measures are implemented in the UK. 

She was dismissed from her job by her employer due to pregnancy.  Given her pregnancy, it is unlikely anyone would give her another job. Her situation made me think about the current state of the housing crisis for individuals and families on low income in the UK who find it  impossible to get accommodation and whether many of them are forced into homelessness due to the government’s welfare reforms.

In 1976 there were over 5 million properties rented from local authorities on social rents. By 2017, council housing stock had shrunk to just over a million.

In 1980, the then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, introduced the Right to Buy Scheme which offered tenants discounted prices on their council homes. In the process it removed a considerable number of homes from public ownership.  Hansard outlined that:

‘No single piece of legislation has enabled the transfer of so much capital wealth from the state to the people.’ 

The policy of the transfer of state assets to individuals marked a decisive moment in modern history. The shift paved the way from dependency on state support to the mercy of a deregulated market.  Many local authority properties were also transferred to private registered providers. These properties were acquired by housing associations and private landlords. In 1980, 1% of the total housing tenure was managed by housing associations. Since then it has increased to 6% whilst private tenure has risen from 7.5% in 1980 to 12% in 2018.  At the same time, over 52% of housing is privately owned; either owner occupied or bought to let.

Positive Money, a financial campaigning organisation, states,

‘House prices rise much faster than wages, which means that houses become less and less affordable.’

Inevitably for low income individuals and families who are on state benefits, just like Joanna, getting a private rental property is very difficult. The House of Commons Briefing Paper explained: 

‘The most commonly selected reason was a perceived greater risk of delays in payment or unpaid rent. This was selected by 68% of landlords and 78% of agents. Many landlords and agents also reported a perceived risk that the benefits would not cover all of the rent (reported by 62% of landlords and 70% of agents).' 

Since the financial crisis in 2019-10, a raft of reforms were implemented that left many low income individuals and families into destitution, pretty similar to what has happened to Joanna.  The Welfare Reform Act 2012 introduced the bedroom tax, benefit cap and universal credit and the freeze on the Local Housing Allowance.

According to Crisis, a national homeless charity,  in 2009/2010  and 2016-17 there has been a rise from 11% of homelessness acceptance to 31% by local authorities. It states that:

‘ …Local Housing Allowance reforms as a major driver of this association between loss of private tenancies and homelessness. These reforms have also demonstrably restricted lower income households’ access to the private rented sector. The number of Housing Benefit/Universal Credit claimants who are private tenants is now some 5 per cent lower than when the Local Housing Allowance reforms began in 2011, despite the continuing strong growth of the private rented sector overall.’ 

The Local Housing Allowance, a means tested social security benefit, was initially set up in 2003 to ensure private tenants can pay their rent if their income does not cover the cost by getting housing benefit. 

According to Shelter, a homeless charity:

 ‘Since 2010, housing benefit have not risen in line with rising private rents…this means that most private renters who need their income topped up by housing benefit will face a monthly shortfall between the actual cost of their rents and the support available.'  

Since 2013, universal credit has been rolled out throughout UK and every corner of the country has seen an increase in rent arrears.  Social landlords, defined as local authority and housing associations, say they are now feeling the stress of austerity measures. The Ministry of Justice’s record shows that in between January and March 2019, the majority of all landlords bringing a claim for possession were social landlords.  They make up 63% of all the claims. Many of these housing associations explained that austerity is fueling rent arrears:

‘the difficulty many tenants had with 'direct payment' (that is, being responsible for paying their rent); tenants encountering an unexpected expense; 'accidental' underpayment, which involved tenants underpaying inadvertently; and, the delay between tenants' initial UC claim and their first payment.’

Joanna’s situation clearly resembles what the landlords are stating.   I personally feel it has made her situation worse, just as it has done for many low income individuals and households in this era of austerity. 

Court Fine and Your Money Matters

On Your Money Matters, Kumar Banerjee, a highly qualified criminal defence solicitor, demystifies the role of criminal courts in England when someone finds himself in trouble with the law. 

He talked about many things: why you find yourself in the criminal courts and how you can defend yourself when you are in such a traumatic situation. If you have to pay a court fine, what options do you have available when you are on low income. All of these things and many more with Ripon Ray!

If you want me to talk about any specific subjects that interest you, get in touch with me.

Clacton Unite Community Group & Ripon Ray Provide Universal Credit Info Session

Unity News

By  Lucy Wood

 May 3, 2019

64

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Clacton Unite Community branch held an event to help people with Universal Credit on Tuesday 30th April. Special guest, Community Money Matters blogger, debt and money specialist, Ripon Ray spoke about what Universal Credit was and sought to inform people of how it works and what claimants’ rights are.

Ripon presented an informative speech, but it was obvious that the people attending were anxious to have their voices heard about the issues they were facing, it became a much more conversational meeting.

Topics discussed were the introduction of welfare reform and the reasoning for this. Ripon highlighted the Economic crash caused by the banks in 2008 and the introduction of austerity policies in 2010 by the Conservative/Lib-Dem coalition government.

The five-week wait was discussed and how this left people in destitution, requiring food banks and loans to survive. Ripon commented about the governments suggested solution of taking an advance stating “The problem is that you can get a loan but the loan will get deducted from your ongoing income although that ongoing income itself isn’t enough”.

He also went on to discuss who was entitled to Universal Credit and how to claim and gave advise on how to appeal. He advised to not give up hope and continue to appeal decisions if the claimant believes they are wrong. He also advised having help to fill out forms if needed and where possible.

Nic El-Safty, Labour candidate for Walton and Unite Community Woman’s officer, shared her experiences with the DWP fit for work tests and offered hope to those attending that were experiencing their own unfair decisions.

Mr. Ray also spoke about applying for help from the local council regarding help to top up rent payments, when the maximum is not covering the full amount and advised to continue to apply as even if you have been turned down on a first application, a further application could succeed, dependent on the level of budget available.

Following on from the educational part of the meeting Ripon spent time answering questions and giving advice to those that needed it.

What was clear is that Universal credit was the cause of much confusion and anxiety to people. Those that had gone through the Universal Credit system were left struggling with minuscule sums of money left over after bare necessities, which didn’t always include food. Others were being forced onto Universal Credit after being wrongly declared fit for work and others were misled to believe they were not entitled to claim Universal Credit and were being left without financial support.

Clacton Unite Community Branch’s Secretary, George Taylor made a comment in response to the concerns of many of the people there about the way they were being treated under the new welfare reform, he said. “We are living in a hostile environment, all these policies, coming from this government are attacking working people, disabled people, vulnerable people, unemployed people, not their people, they are giving their people tax breaks”.

Unite Community sought to help the local community by holding this event and will endeavour to continue to support and care for the local community, especially helping those most vulnerable to know their rights.

Money Management Training with the Connection at St Martin's - homeless charity i...

'Despite being an essential life skill, Money Management is always a difficult sell to our homeless clients, as it's a rather dry topic. Ripon, however, makes it accessible and even entertaining. He is a rare hybrid of engaging and accomplished trainer AND subject matter expert on all things money – just what we needed!, Cordelia Wise, Manager of  Enterprise and Employment, St Martin-In-the-Field, homelessness charity (London)