Useful links from August 1st to 15th: child households; pooling resources; youth deal.

August 23, 2013 Carol Miers

These are some welfare links we found interesting during the first two weeks of August.

YoungMinds comment on Prince’s Trust ‘Abandoned Ambitions’ report. Charity YoungMinds. “These figures highlight just some of the everyday pressures young people face”. Abandoned Ambitions (pdf)
Interview with Jolyon Jones: the cuts from the barricade website runningwithscissors-brum. A Birmingham social worker and activist speaks about the cuts in children’s services.
Music therapy helps children who have witnessed domestic violence Guardian. Professional, social care network. A call for innovation and a sharing of knowledge and experience amongst social care providers; Ashram Housing Association and music therapy.
Benefit cap hits child households hardest. Children & Young People Now, website for those working in children’s services.
Parents should pool resources to combat cuts in respite care. Guardian. New schemes approach ways of offering breaks for disabled children and carers as the need grows to make links with similar families.
Coalition’s £1bn youth deal failing to create permanent jobs, Labour claims. Guardian, Society, Youth unemployment.
The crisis in living standards and how to solve it. Economist Duncan Weldon, the touchstone blog. As we are seeing the longest squeeze on living standards since the 1870’s, policy needs to focus upon wages, not on inflation.
Parents forced into debt to pay for school uniforms. Independent.

Backs against the wall: How the bedroom tax is affecting communities

August 19, 2013 Carol Miers

As insolvent welfare tenants stream through the Magistrates’ courts, citizens rally against the ‘bedroom tax’, using words, actions and songs. Tom Walker and HMI Welfare are gathering this together.
How is your community affected by the bedroom tax? #bedroomtax @HMIW @No_BedroomTax

Thousands summoned at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court for council tax arrears

Some 7,600 Sheffielders who have fallen behind in council tax payments received a court order to appear in front of the magistrates. A to…
Hundreds Summoned To Court Hearing ” News ” We Are Barnsley

We are Barnsley is the place for people of the town to come together and share their news and views.
Tenants run up £9,000 in ‘bedroom tax’ arrears

SHORELINE Housing Association tenants struggling or refusing to pay the bedroom tax have already run up an estimated £9,000 in arrears. C…

View the story “Backs against the wall: How the bedroom tax is affecting communities” on Storify

Communities, Homelessness, links

Useful links for July: Universal credits; food banks; austerity blogs

August 18, 2013 Carol Miers

These are the welfare links we have been looking at in July and with May and June’s round-up recently covered, they are now almost up to date.

Keep your fingers on the keyboard to let us know if and how you use the data, or how we can improve by using the comment form below.

Universal credit fears revealed through Citizens Advice survey. Guardian. Survey conducted by charity suggests 90% of benefit claimants will be unprepared for new single payment benefits scheme.
Homeless households ‘off the radar’ of public services. Guardian. Hundreds of families are being moved out of London into Bed &Breakfast places around England without access to child protection or schools, a Guardian investigation reveals. Continue reading Useful links for July: Universal credits; food banks; austerity blogs →

Communities, data, Homelessness, Housing

Useful links for June: bedroom tax; zero hour contracts; food poverty.

August 17, 2013 Carol Miers

There are three round-up pieces over a few days, of news and data source items on welfare related issues. They are to bridge the gap of the last few months before these news stops become a regular post.

Keep your fingers hovering over the comment form below as we would really like to find out how you use the data links and what areas you want included.

Homeless? Here, have a tent… Guardian. A council which refused emergency housing support to a homeless 62-year old pensioner instead offered to buy her a tent.
The bedroom tax has made huge problems even worse. The Guardian. The government’s housing benefit changes are a mess, ramping up arrears and emptying out streets. But what would Labour do differently? Continue reading Useful links for June: bedroom tax; zero hour contracts; food poverty. →

Communities, data, Homelessness

Useful links for May: child poverty; risk of night shelter closure; food banks struggle to cope

August 16, 2013 Carol Miers

Here and over the next couple of days is a round-up of news items and data sources, bridging the gap of the last few months on welfare related issues. This will become a regular post.

Keep your fingers on the keyboard to let us know if and how you use the data, or how we can improve by using the comment form below.

Changes to legal aid and Tax credits – ‘Where’s my reply’? service. Citizens Advice Bureau Advice Guide. Civil legal aid helps to pay for the costs of getting legal advice if you’re on a low income. You can check the progress of an enquiry on line.
Child poverty, a million more kids set to live below the breadline by 2020 Mirror. The coalition’s child poverty policies are a slap are a “slap in the face” to families – and could put a million more children below the breadline.
Benefits rule risks closure of night shelters forcing hundreds on streets Guardian. Hundreds of vulnerable homeless people face being turned out on to the streets amid confusion over how local authorities should interpret a legal ruling which could trigger the closure of emergency night shelters. Continue reading Useful links for May: child poverty; risk of night shelter closure; food banks struggle to cope →

interview

A growing gap to meet children’s service needs – interview with Cafcass

August 12, 2013 Carol Miers 2 Comments

Would we complain if councils spent £0.5m to avert another ‘Baby P’?

Would we say that children’s services left our roads with pot holes if funding had to be taken from other budgets, like maintenance or roads?

These are the kind of see-saw decisions local authorities are trying to balance, according to Anthony Douglas, chief executive of CAFCASS, the national agency that supports and advises children and families through court. Continue reading A growing gap to meet children’s service needs – interview with Cafcass →

data

Get the data: organogram of Job Centre Plus

July 15, 2013 Abbey Hartley

The Department for Work and Pensions has published data about posts in Job Centre Plus. The organogram shows the title, hierarchy and salary of positions in the company.

The PDF shown above (click to see full size) is also available here.

A guide to data sets, explaining the meaning of ‘salary cost of reports’ can be found here.

If you find the data useful, or need any further help, please get in touch.

data

Get the data: organogram and staff pay

July 12, 2013 Abbey Hartley

The Department for Work and Pensions has published data about Senior Civil Service posts, including the title, hierarchy and salary. Information is given on a variety of sectors such as Job Centre Plus, disability, employment, welfare and Directgov.

The organogram (PDF) shown above is also available here.

A guide to data sets, explaining the meaning of ‘salary cost of reports’ can be found here.

If you find the data useful, or need any further help, please get in touch.

data, Housing

DWP changes “open data” tool after Help Me Investigate raises concerns

July 11, 2013 Paul Bradshaw

The Department for Work and Pensions has promised a series of improvements to an online tool promoted as an example of “open data” after concerns were raised by Help Me Investigate.

Stat-Xplore was one of the case studies described in a DWP report on open data earlier this year. But on launch the site failed to meet basic open data principles listed by the Government’s own Public Sector Transparency Board (PDF), making it difficult for citizens and developers to use the data.

Continue reading DWP changes “open data” tool after Help Me Investigate raises concerns →

Uncategorized

London’s domestic violence victims face longest wait for re-housing in 5 years

April 15, 2013 Jess Denham

Victims of domestic violence in London are facing the longest wait for re-housing in five years, with the average household forced to remain in temporary accommodation for just over two years, writes Jess Denham.

The number of women seeking re-housing due to domestic abuse has risen by 62% since 2008 and remained steady in recent years, suggesting that support for those struggling is still lacking. Continue reading London’s domestic violence victims face longest wait for re-housing in 5 years →

Help Me Investigate Welfare