Yesterday was a day of opportunity, a chance to put the odious Welfare Reform Bill a little bit to rights with 7 small amendments proposed by the House of Lords. Yes, each one reduced the amount of total savings projected in upfront terms - but long term the opportunities they provided disabled people, single parents and the unemployed in expensive areas would have saved a lot more. Instead, Financial Privilege has been used and abused to ignore the expert opinions provided by the House of Lords
Three concessions have been offered to the Welfare Reform Bill by the government as follows:
• Families affected by the £26,000 welfare cap will be given at least nine months "grace period" to adapt to the loss of benefits, by finding a job or moving house.
• A discretionary fund will be established for local authorities to use in "difficult cases" - such ensuring a family is not forced to move when a child is at a critical stage in its schooling.
• The lowest income single parents seeking support from the Child Support Agency will not be charged a fee (the current plan proposes a £50 fee for parents on out of work benefits)
@BendyGirl said the rest best, and we will leave it to her: The Death of Decency
#Frothers will keep running and campaigning - keep following for more updates on changes to Britain's Welfare State.
i think there will be more cuts from the tory dems, they'll think of more ways to redistribute from the poor to the rich.
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