git ssb

title: "Welfare State Fail" date: 2008-11-18 14:53 status: published description: > Hartlepool's local MP strikes again—in London

tags: Olympics, Iain Wright, London, Job Centre, UK government, homelessness, welfare state, The Big Issue, news, BBC News

<p>Wishing to avoid an unsightly mess in time for the 2012 Olympics <i>(<a href="/bringingdowntheestablishment">please don't sue me</a>)</i>, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7735365.stm">Ministers have unveiled plans to end homelessness in London</a>. By the way: great to see Hartlepool's <abbr class="caps" title="Member of Parliament">MP</abbr> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iain_Wright">Iain Wright</a> continuing his election-winning policy of being local, isn't it?</p>

<p>One such plan entails <q cite="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7735365.stm">a 24-hour helpline to report concerns about homeless people</q>. <i>Euh! Look, Terence—a homeless person! Quick! <em>Call the helpline!</em> …or hit her with our copy of the Daily Mail, or something…!</i></p>

<p>Also planned is <q>assisting single people with deposits on rented property</q>. And, as I understand it, the government requires cohabitation before it recognises a relationship, so logically they will view <em>all</em> homeless people as single.</p>

<hr>

<p>Last time I was unemployed, I claimed Jobseekers' Allowance and Housing Benefit. These totalled to around £85 per week, which was sufficient to pay for my rent, food, water and power bills, and even a few luxuries.</p>

<p><strong>Are homeless people not eligible for these benefits?</strong></p>

<p>If they are, deposit assistance should solve the immediate problem. Unless, of course, by “assistance” they mean:</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Here! Have half!</p>

<p><i>But I can't afford the <em>other</em> hundred pounds—I have barely enough income from selling <a href="http://www.bigissue.com/">The Big Issue</a> to eat.</i></p>

<p>Well, we tried! &lt;cheesy shrug-to-camera, canned laughter></p>
</blockquote>

<p>Maybe make it illegal to discriminate against a job candidate on the basis of addresslessness too.</p>

<p>If homeless people <em>aren't</em> eligible for Jobseekers' and Housing Benefit—<strong>why the hell not?</strong> It seems to me that homelessness and joblessness are essentially the same issue, and that it should be well within the Job Centre's remit to address homelessness too.</p>

<hr>

<p>But then, of course, I'm an ill-informed imbecile. <a href="http://www.bigissue.com/manifesto.pdf" title="The Big Issue Manifesto (PDF)">Fixing the immediate problem of “being able to get a house” won't help everyone.</a></p>