HOUSING BENEFIT AND POOR HOUSEHOLDS

That this House is concerned that almost one million of the poorest people in Britian, among them 170,000 pensioners, will lose an average of 12 a week next year, a drop of up to 17 per cent. of their disposable income, as a result of cuts in housing benefit; notes that the greatest impact will be felt by the unemployed, who will have to find an extra 11 a week to pay their rent; further notes that more than 40,000 households will lose more than 1,000 a year; endorses the comment of Helen Williams, Assistant Director at the National Housing Federation, that `there is a very real risk that these cuts will push hundreds of thousands of people into poverty, debt and even on to the streets if they end up being evicted'; and calls on the Government not to proceed with policies which will force those on low incomes to leave their homes and existing communities.